Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state has said that his administration has expended the sum of N1 billion to fight the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic alongside provision of palliatives to over 50, 000 vulnerable household.
Obaseki who disclosed this in a state-broadcast said Edo has taken delivery of another Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing machine which according to him is currently being installed at the Edo Specialist Hospital.
According to him, “This (PCR testing machine) will give us the capacity to perform up to 1000 tests daily in Edo State.
“The government of Edo State is leading this battle from the front. We have already spent over #1 billion of our limited resources so far on this fight.”
Edo state index case of the pandemic was confirmed on March 23, and afterward rose to 15 as at Monday April 22.
Of the confirmed cases, seven persons have been discharged from treatment with one death, according to an update from the National Center for Disease and Control (NCDC).
Obaseki further said, “Many of our people still do not believe that COVID 19 is real and therefore are not internalizing social distancing which is required to end this pandemic.
“We have therefore organised our communication team to rally our people by undertaking massive awareness and raise the consciousness of citizens to accept personal responsibility to protect themselves and the community
“As at today, Edo state has recorded 15 COVID-19 cases. Unfortunately, the worst may be yet to come as we expect to see a rapid increase in the number of cases when we begin massive screening and testing,” he stated.
Meanwhile the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state has decried what it described as “financial opacity surrounding the pandemic fight.”
In a statement by the party’s publicity secretary, Mr. Chris Nehikhare, the PDP cautioned officials of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state “to stop using the COVID-19 pandemic as gateway for corrupt profiteering and fleecing of the state treasury”.