Dr. Oyebanji Filani, the Commissioner for Health in Ekiti State, stated on Saturday that the state has recorded 74 new COVID-19 cases, necessitating a return to preventive measures to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
Filani said residents must adhere to the measures including “wearing of facemasks in public gatherings, maintaining hand hygiene through proper handwashing or use of alcohol-based hand rub, social or physical distancing, reporting at the nearest health facility when sick, getting tested and isolating if positive and adherence to COVID-19 measures by banks and other institutions”.
The commissioner made the disclosure in a statement titled, ‘Ekiti announces return to strict COVID-19 preventive measures to mitigate increasing nationwide spread’.
He harped on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, saying, “Vaccination remains the most effective means of curbing this pandemic and we encourage all residents of the state to get vaccinated. As at today, 384,730 persons are fully vaccinated. However, this is not sufficient to achieve herd immunity, hence the re-enforcement of preventive protocols”.
He stated, “As the state Ministry of Health continues to monitor the recent increase of COVID-19 cases across the country and a recent spike in the state with 74 persons currently positive, all residents of Ekiti State are hereby advised to adhere strictly to the government’s public health and social measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19”.
As part of measures to combat spread of COVID-19, Filani said, “The state has trained and deployed over 80 mobile vaccination teams and 177 health facility-based teams across all local government areas in the state. Citizens are encouraged to visit the vaccination post nearest to them to get their complete COVID-19 jabs.
“The state government will continue to engage with the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and other partners to ensure constant availability and accessibility of vaccines while heightening surveillance activities to ensure quick detection and mitigation of the spread of COVID-19.”