Commissioner Says There Is No Ebola In Delta State

 

The Commissioner for Information in Delta State, Chike Ogeah, has debunked the rumours that the Ebola virus had spread into Delta State.

Speaking on the Monday edition of Sunrise Daily on Channels Television, he explained that a severely ill patient was indeed brought into the Federal Medical Centre in Asaba with some symptoms of the Ebola virus and this caused panic among citizens, which led to the wrong information being spread.

He, however, said that the state was proactive as they were already prepared for such situations and the patient was immediately isolated while his blood sample was sent for testing.

Before the test results, which revealed that the patient had something else, came out, the rumour had already spread wide that Delta had Ebola.

He also explained that there was a similar situation of a diabetic patient of an hospital who was also severely ill but was later found to have aggravated his own condition by consuming a lot of salt based on the rumour of its capacity to cure Ebola. This patient later died, according to him.

Ogeah expressed disappointment at the manner in which wrong information have been spreading since the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria. He noted that Delta State has taken all necessary steps to keep the state safe and what would be needed from the citizens is cooperation.

He stressed that people would always fall ill and fever would always be one of the regular symptoms but that should not always lead to rumours of Ebola.

“We don’t compromise our health standards in Delta,” he said, adding that this has been validated by the international musical concert holding in Asaba, the state capital, on October 1, which has not been cancelled despite similar events being cancelled in other states.

Speaking further about the state’s safety status ahead of the concert that features American music stars like Ja Rule, he said; “They did their check in America and if they have heard anything to the contrary they would have cancelled the show.”

He added that Delta’s approach to sensitization was a continuous one using both traditional and new media platforms in addition to town criers who go out to enlighten the people.

“We want to make sure that our citizenry is not unnecessary panicked,” he said.

He also said that a crack team of medical experts have been set up to ensure that the health workers in the state also update their knowledge of the virus and adhere to modern management skills.

Mr Ogeah emphasized the need to focus on healthy habits that would help curtail the spread of the virus.

The Commissioner also gave assurances of the readiness of Delta State for the resumption of schools on September 22, as reviewed by the Federal Government on Friday.

He said that Delta would be doing the usual things expected of the state but with emphasis on the different categories of caregivers who cater to the children as they were aware of the sensitive nature of their task of protecting the children.

School bus drivers, nannies, class teachers and others, according to Ogeah, would be mandated to adhere to recommended hygienic practices because of their closeness to the children. They would also be given proper trainings on the nature of the Ebola virus and how to prevent it.

This is in addition to the provision of water in all schools in the state.

Mr Ogeah commended the Federal Government and the Lagos State Government for their handling of the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, adding that he never expected less from the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola.

He called on Nigerians not to politicize the Ebola matter and to shun every form of stigmatization of patients and also states where the virus has been confirmed.

Delta Politics

Ogeah said that the focus of the Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, as regards the politics of the state, would be to ensure that his successor is someone who has the capacity to surpass his achievements in the state.

He stated that irrespective of the permutations of politicians in the different zones of the state, the most important factor would be fairness in the electoral process that produces the next Governor of the state.

While he acknowledged the idea of zoning, which he referred to as a gentleman agreement, and which zones the Office of the Governor for the next dispensation to Delta North, he stressed that there would be a level playing ground for all candidates to contest.

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