COVID-19: Bello locks down Kabba amid controversy

Amidst discontent over the announcement of two index cases of novel coronavirus in Kogi State, the state government has ordered a lockdown of the affected Kabba Local Government Area where the victims emanated.

Governor Yahaya Bello, who directed the total lockdown of the area in a press briefing yesterday in Lokoja said the measure will commence from today. Daily Trust reports that the two index cases are father and son.

He reiterated that although the state is still "COVID-19 free", and that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) "dubiously allocated index cases," there is need to take precautionary measures because of "obvious move to spread the virus" in the state.

According to him, the state's response team has conducted contact tracing of the family members of the affected persons, adding that 13 people that were tested returned negative.

He noted that the lockdown would enable the state government to carry out house-to-house test of all residents and forestall infiltration of the area by "agents of those who are keen on escalating" the disease in the state.

He stated that the state government is making arrangement to provide palliatives to the residents of the area during the period, while security agents will be deployed to enforce the lockdown.

He called on the Federal Medical Centre management to urgently isolate its personel including doctors who came into contact with the supposed index cases since they insisted the victims are positive.

Bello said the politicisation of the Kogi issue further reinforced his earlier position and suspicion that economic and political interests were the underlying factors behind the fictitious cases announced daily by the NCDC.

He insisted that the supposed index cases were part of such politics, adding that the manner which the community leader who was "stung by bees" was hurriedly moved to Abuja without the knowledge of the state government was suspicious.

"Equally suspicious was the declaration by the NCDC that the community leader and his son tested positive.

"Even the son who was said to have tested positive is walking around running errands for his father instead of being in insolation as the NCDC guidelines stipulated," he alleged.