Governor Adegboyega Oyetola on Wednesday commissioned a state-of-the-art isolation centre in Osogbo as part of efforts to complement the effective and efficient management of Coronavirus pandemic in the state.
He said the Coalition Against COVID-19 (Ca-COVID) renovated the health facility and donated equipment and consumables for 100 beds to which the state government added 60 beds.
On the same premises, the state has another 20-room single beds isolation centre, giving the Mercyland facility a 180-bed isolation centre .
Inaugurating the facility, Governor Oyetola disclosed that the facility would serve as an addition to the government’s other initiatives in containing the spread of the rampaging virus.
He attributed the successes recorded by the state on the effective management of the pandemic to holistic approach launched against the virus since its berthed in Nigeria and the state.
Oyetola noted that the administration had swiftly adopted creative and proactive methods to manage the pandemic as it had dedicated funds, human resources and indeed focused resolve to beat the virus and end the menace.
He said the state government had renovated and equipped three other isolation centres which include, 130-bed facility in Ejigbo; 12-bed capacity in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, a 20-bed isolation centre and 8-bed Intensive Care Unit at State Specialist Hospital, Asubiaro, Osogbo, making 342-isolation beds and 8 ICU-bed facility in the state.
Oyetola added: “We are adopting a holistic approach to winning the pandemic, including working with the National Centre for Disease Control and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
“We have dedicated personnel doing contact tracing, testing of contacts, isolation and care of patients for quality treatment. We have extensive publicity and sensitization programmes in place to educate and update our citizens regularly on how to stop COVID-19 in its tracks.
“There has also been provision of palliative for citizens, introduction of lockdown and curfew as appropriate to ensure effective containment of the virus without hurting our economy and livelihoods.
“The employment of this method as well as the cooperation and compliance of our citizens is the reason we have been able to achieve the modest success we have recorded so far, despite the huge imported cases we had to contend with at the initial stage of the pandemic in the State”.
Commending the Coalition Against COVID-19 for being supportive to the state in its efforts to eliminate the pandemic, the Governor opined that, “complementing government’s efforts at ensuring the safety and security of the people is the highest duty that a corporate entity, group or individual can provide, and it is also the greatest measure of the integrity of these entities and their hearts for the people”.
The Governor appealed to other well-meaning citizens of the state to support the administration in its untiring efforts to combat the menace just as he urged them to comply with the subsisting rules and regulations.
He said, ” I would like to extend deep gratitude to CACOVID for their generosity, sense of duty and love for the people of the State of Osun at this challenging period. With corporate citizens like CACOVID on our side, we are confident as a government that we will win this virulent war.”
In his remarks, the Deputy Governor, Mr. Benedict Alabi, commended Governor Oyetola for prioritising the health of the citizens since his assumption of office.
Alabi who doubled as the Chairman, Osun COVID-19 Taskforce, attributed the milestone achievements recorded by the Taskforce to the huge support received from the Governor.
“With necessary support from the governor, the Osun COVID-19 Taskforce, which I chair, has been able to coordinate the activities of the state’s intervention against the spread of the coronavirus with necessary vigour and attendant success.
“The speed and sequence of the state government’s response to the initial spate of spread of the novel virus, coupled with consistency in management and containment of the pandemic in our dear state have tremendously elicited accolades from all quarters”, Alabi added.
Earlier in his remarks, the COVID-19 Coordinator for Oyo and Osun states, Mr. Timothy Arowoogun, applauded the way and manner at which the Osun state government has been managing the pandemic since its birthed in the state.
Arowoogun who described Osun as one of the few states in Nigeria that had proved their capacities and commitments in combating the deadly disease, called on all to support governments in their collective resolve to eliminate the pandemic in the country.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CA-COVID) to ensure adequate support for government at various levels to end the spread of the disease.