Plateau State has recorded its first Covid-19 death.
Governor Simon Lalong who is the chairman of the state Covid 19 Task Force in Plateau confirmed this in Jos the state capital at a press conference.
He said the patient sample was taken yesterday but died before his result was returned .
He said the state has successfully treated and discharged 10 infected persons including the index case who have all been reunited with their families. .
Lalong said “we shall continue to restrict inter-Local Government movements to further curtail the spread of the disease .
He said the major challenge the state has continued to face is the breaches at the State boundaries where people continue to violate the closure order through compromise or resort to illegal routes.
“This has exposed the State to more dangers of COVID-19, as virtually all the cases we have recorded, originated from other States and were imported by people who defied our directives and entered the State at all costs. This is indeed sad.”
The Governor said as a Government that is people driven and desirous of carrying everyone along, it has noted the concerns raised in respect of the need to have more room for people to secure services such as banking which were limited because of the existing lockdown schedule.
He further said that ” With effect from 17th May 2020, the total lockdown will resume from midnight of every Sunday and be relaxed on Wednesdays 12 midnight.”
“This will henceforth be the pattern until further review. In order words, the total lockdown is relaxed on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays; while Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays remain totally locked down.”
The Governor said the use of facemasks in public places remains compulsory, and anyone found not using one outside his home would be arrested and charged to the mobile court.
“To ensure better enforcement and compliance, Government will henceforth enroll some of its civil servants for the exercise. Accordingly, the Head of Service has been directed to immediately deploy civil servants from grade levels 10-14 to various points across the State.
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“Local Government Chairmen are to also replicate same in their domains to ensure effective coverage of the entire State. ”
Lalong further said that the Faringada Market continues to defy all guidelines for social distancing and sanitation, and poses potent threat to the state government efforts to defeat COVID-19. Therefore, the market will be shut down until the trader unions and the Management of Jos North Local Government come up with an acceptable model for regulation that poses no risk to public health and safety.
He said that religious gatherings shall continue to have not more than 50 persons, while social distancing, hygiene and sanitation regulations shall continue to apply.
Lalong said that all these decisions are without prejudice to the overnight curfew instituted by the Federal Government from 8pm to 6am.
“Government remains fully aware of the collective hardship that this situation has brought upon us all particularly the most vulnerable. Already, the distribution of palliatives to this category of people has continued throughout the State.”
He also said that in the coming weeks, more palliatives from the Federal Government and the private sector donor initiative, CACOVID, shall be received to boost the efforts of the State Government.
