By Akanimo Sampson
Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State has advocated a total lockdown of the country as a means of containing the ravaging coronavirus pandemic.
This is as the Federal Government had announced a 14-day lockdown of Abuja, Ogun and Lagos States which began Tuesday, March 31.
Speaking to analysts of TVC NEWS, Lagos under a programme: Journalists Hangout on Tuesday, Oyetola said it did not make to clamp down a lockdown in three states to the exclusion of many other states in the country.
Oyetola announced lockdown of Osun State two days ago to check the dreaded virus.
According to him, many people in other states are still moving about, interacting at will without observing social distancing, noting that this could worsen every attempt to control the dreaded virus in the lockdown states.
Already, scientists have called on the federal government to order a lockdown of Nigeria to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the death toll for corona virus has started to rise in Nigeria to two as cases in the country zoomed to 135 as at Tuesday.
Health Minister, Dr Osagie Ehanire,who confirmed this on Monday, says the fatality was recorded during the weekend.
This is coming as Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State becomes the third governor in the country to test positive for the rampaging coronavirus, and is in self-isolation.
The governor revealed this in a statement on his Twitter handle on Monday where he pointed out that he is asymptomatic.
“I just received my COVID-19 confirmation test result,” he tweeted. “It is POSITIVE. I am asymptomatic and will continue to self-isolate.”
Governor Makinde also directed the former Chief Medical Director of the University College, Ibadan, Prof Temitope Alonge, to be the Head of COVID-19 Task Force as he recovers.
“I have designated Prof Temitope Alonge, former Chief Medical Director of the University College, Ibadan, as the Head of COVID-19 Task Force while I recover fully,” he says.
Makinde also urged the people of Oyo to comply with instructions from the COVID-19 Task Force, adding, “stay home, stay safe.”
Before him, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and his Bauchi State counterpart, Bala Mohammed, have both tested positive for the virus.
However, the minister says, “as of today, March 30, 2020, we have recorded 111 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria. Of which 68 are in Lagos, 21 in the FCT, seven in Oyo, three in Ogun, two in Bauchi, two in Edo, two in Osun, two in Enugu, and one each in Benue, Ekiti, Kaduna and Rivers States.
“The majority of them are persons who came from overseas and the others have been traced as close contacts of such returnees.
“Till date, three persons have been discharged after successful treatment. But sadly, another fatality was recorded over the weekend in the person of a patient who had severe underlying illnesses.
“We have intensified contact tracing and our strategy remains to promptly detect cases, isolate them, and follow up with their contacts and also isolate and treat, in order to reduce the spread of the infection.”
Former Managing Director of Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, Suleiman Achimugu, was the first Nigerian to have died of coronavirus infection.
The 67-year-old engineer, who returned from the United Kingdom, showed symptoms of the virus and died on March 23, 2020.
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says the country has confirmed 20 new cases of the killer virus.
