The Kwara State government on Tuesday disclosed that about 75 persons who had contact with the two COVID-19 patients in the state are under contact-tracing in order to curb the spread of the infectious disease in the state.

Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq stated this on Tuesday during a press briefing held at the State Government House, Illorin. He urged Kwarans to remain calm and vigilant.

The governor said: “Yesterday evening, we got the result of two persons who tested positive for COVID-19 in Kwara State. One is the wife of the late patient who died at the University of Ilorin Teaching, (UITH) and the second person is a diabetic patient who also had travel history and he has since gone to self-isolation with his wife.”

According to him “Our job is cut out for us and we are definitely not dropping the ball. Contact tracing by the Rapid Response Team of the medical advisory committee has so far netted 75 persons who have had contacts with the cases and the suspected case at UITH.”

He said that the state is not helpless or without reasonable preparation about the outbreak of the pandemic.

“We urge Kwarans to avoid crowded space, isolate themselves, and call our helplines if they have just returned from places of interest in the last three weeks. The government is extending the ongoing fumigation exercise to all the places of interest, including the relevant locations in Offa and Ilorin, where contamination may have occurred as a result of how infectious the disease is.”

He, however, said “Notwithstanding our preparation, we are not ashamed to say that Kwara State will be glad to get all the help it can receive at this moment. We commend everyone who has been doing so much in this regard and we call for more,” he said.

While reacting to the late Muideen Obanimomo case at UITH, who suspected to died of COVID-19, AbdulRahman said, “The government is utterly disappointed at the breach of trust that played out in the UITH case. Without prejudice to the internal investigation by UITH, we demand immediate suspension of Professor Alakija Kazeem Salami and every other official of UITH whose professional misconducts brought us down this path pending the outcome of the ongoing probe.

On the compliance of residents on stay at home order, AbdulRahman said the state technical committee of COVID-19 pandemic would before the end of the day rollout more measures to ensure people complied with the directive.

Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Health, Dr. Raji Rasaq also made it known at the press briefing that tracing of contacts is still ongoing both in Offa and Ilorin, and said the team would keep briefing the general populace as event unfold,he said.