C’River Goes Tough On Border Closure After NCDC’s Vote Of Confidence

Chiemeka ADINDU, Calabar
Cross River state Commissioner for Health and Chairman, COVID-19 Task Force, Dr. Betta Edu has said the state government will redouble her efforts on the preventative measures taken to avoid the outbreak of coronavirus in the state.
This comes after the COVID-19 team led by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, NCDC, showered encomiums on the state government for being proactive in containing the virus which has ensured the state’s status of COVID-19 free.
Edu who disclosed this to TNN in a telephone interview said the state government would intensify the measures already on ground, especially on border closure.

She maintained that this is the only way to ensure the safety of its citizens. “They have given us new energy, so we will now triple the lockdown. We will also double the enforcement of no mask, no movement and social distance orders in both the cities and villages,” the commissioner reiterated.
She further disclosed that the NCDC team was not quarantined as earlier planned since their visit was just for a few hours. She said: “They were just coming for a validation scope visit and were to go back immediately after the visit. They were screened at the airport before they went into the town.
“We also considered several factors as there were rumours that we were hiding something and let it not also be that we have issues with the federal government”. She said the visit was a full team of the federal agencies including directors from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency.
The team led by Dr. Omobolande Olowu, arrived the Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar on Monday and was received by the commissioner, before heading to the ministry of health for a meeting and thereafter went on a tour to the General Hospital, Calabar, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH Isolation Centre, Tinapa Isolation Centre, Palace of the Obong of Calabar and other health facilities in the state.