A Deserving Thumbs Up for Governor Uzodimma on Covid-19

 

Jerome Nwachi writes that the indefatigable Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma deserves some accolades for the proactive measures he has put in place to protect the citizens from the deadly Coronavirus and other contagious diseases.

 

As the novel Coronavirus disease continues to claim lives all over the world, wreaking havoc on daily life and economies of nations, governments have stepped up measures to prevent the spread of the pandemic, which has already taken a huge toll on the global economy. As at Tuesday, April 7, more than 1,365,000 people have been infected worldwide, with over 77, 000 deaths recorded.

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, speaking recently at a news conference at the World Health Organisation’s headquarters in Geneva, noted that the coronavirus pandemic has brought the world economy to a standstill, and created an economic crisis that is way worse than the 2008 global financial crisis.

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa is among the nations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 276 confirmed cases and six deaths as of April 8.

Over the past weeks, travellers coming into Nigeria are properly screened and health workers have been deployed to increase surveillance, while federal and state governments have acted swiftly to cut down flights, close schools and borders, and also limit public gatherings, as part of efforts to curb the spread of this deadly disease.

As part of measures to tackle the pandemic, the Nigerian government has approved the establishment of N500 billion COVID-19 Crisis intervention fund for the upgrade of dilapidated healthcare facilities across the country and financing of FG’s intervention to states as well as life insurance of health workers among others.

Also, the federal government is seeking as much as N2.679 trillion from multilateral financial institutions, $150 million from the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), another $2.5 billion loan from the World Bank and $1billion from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to tackle and combat the impact of the COVID-19 on the economy. There were also donations from individuals, the private sector and other palliatives from the federal government to help cushion the effects of the disease on Nigerians.

In Imo state, the indefatigable Governor Hope Uzodimma is not resting on his oars as he has taken proactive steps to protect the citizens from the deadly disease.

Although there is no confirmed case of COVID-19 in Imo state currently, the Uzodimma-led government has activated the hitherto moribund health platforms and put these measures in place in case of any eventualities.

 

Activation of Health Platforms
The first thing the governor did in the wake of the Coronavirus disease outbreak in Wuhan, China and some other countries, was to activate all the health platforms in the state to ensure enough capacity to handle any possible outcome.

The governor did this after a state broadcast, where he urged the citizens not to panic but to adhere to all precautionary measures released by the WHO including but not limited to avoiding crowded locations and observing social distancing and personal hygiene.

Citizens were also urged to report any suspected case to the nearest health facility for prompt action.
Also, the governor promptly directed the state Ministry of Health to put in place robust emergency response measures including enhanced border surveillance, community awareness, health workers’ sensitisation as well as procurement of personal protective equipment and hand sanitisers, which were distributed to citizens of the state.

Environmental Taskforce
Determined to rid the state of filth, which is a major cause of communicable diseases, Uzodimma recently set up an environmental taskforce to rid the state of all forms of debris.

The taskforce headed by the state Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Iyke Njoku has his Works counterpart, Ralph Nwosu, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Emeka Agbo and Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties, Chinasa Nwaneri as members.

Other members of the environmental taskforce are Mr. Ifeanyi Oru (Senior Special Assistant to the Governor), Chinedu Mbakwe Obi and Macdonald Ebere, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment and General Manager of ENTRACO.

COVID-19 Special Committee
Penultimate week, the governor inaugurated a 9-man COVID-19 committee comprising tested professionals in the field of medicine and related disciplines, with a mandate to monitor developments around the world on the outbreak of the COVID-19.

 

 

Specifically, the taskforce, which has renowned Professor Maurice Iwu, who has been at the forefront of research for the Coronavirus cure, as Chairman, was directed to take prompt actions, with a view to investigating suspected case/cases and taking the necessary actions. The team has not only demonstrated the capacity to protect the state from the infection but has shown that it is well equipped to handle any eventualities in the state.

Complete Lock Down of the State
Penultimate Saturday, the governor ordered the closure of all markets in the state indefinitely and also prohibited all forms of public gatherings to forestall outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus disease in the state.
The governor, who made the announcement in a state broadcast, stated that all forms of marriage and funeral ceremonies, religious worships both in churches and mosques, including crusades and open evangelism are also prohibited.

Furthermore, the governor directed that all borders into the state be blocked and those coming into the state must obtain clearances from the health officials attached to the check points before they are allowed entry into the state.
Uzodimma also ordered the immediate deployment of combined teams comprising military, police and other security agencies to major streets in Imo to ensure strict compliance with the directives.

Also as part of precautionary measures to prevent the state from being infected, the governor equally directed all civil and public servants in the state, except those on approved essential duties, to suspend work immediately.
Further preventive measures taken by the governor, according to his Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser, Mr. Oguwike Nwachuku included the training of health officials deployed to rural communities to educate them on the novel Coronavirus. The health officials also distributed protective materials and hand sanitizers procured by the state government to the rural communities.

Isolation Centre Unveiled

In line with his proactive healthcare model, Governor Uzodimma last week, unveiled the Imo Initiative Programme (IIP), to tackle contagious diseases aside the COVID-19.
The development is a shift from the hitherto reactive system, which waits for one to become ill before it kicks into action.

On Friday, during the unveiling of one of the COVID-19 Isolation Centres and security patrol vehicles in Owerri, the state capital, Uzodimma declared that although the focus was on COVID-19 because of its awesome potency, “we must never lose sight of the fact that other threats to our collective safety and peaceful existence abound.” He cited such threats as crimes, other contagious diseases and disasters.

He expressed happiness that even with the rising confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country, Imo state has not recorded any confirmed case.

As at last Tuesday, 15 states had recorded confirmed cases of the deadly Coronavirus, with scores of deaths recorded. Imo is among the states with no confirmed case of the disease.

The governor, while attributing this to the glory of God and the relentless efforts of the government and co-operation of the people, cautioned: “As a people, we must remain vigilant, creative and disciplined in our response to this monstrous virus to ensure that it never gets to our state and if it does, that we must not be caught napping.”

Uzodimma, who restated his administration’s readiness to fight the disease to a standstill if it finds its way into the state, said that the six Isolation Centres located in Okigwe General Hospital, Aboh Mbaise General Hospital, Orlu General Hospital, Federal Medical Centre Owerri, General Hospital Umuguma and the Ultra-Modern Well-being Centre, Owerri, Orlu Road, Owerri, are well equipped to handle such cases.

Apart from the six well equipped Isolation Centres unveiled simultaneously by the governor, an Operational Ready Test and Treatment Centre for Coronavirus has also been set up in Owerri metropolis with a molecular Laboratory to test COVID-19, Ebola and all other viruses.

Well trained and equipped medical experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) are fully on ground to conduct test on anyone with symptoms of the COVID-19 and to administer treatment where necessary.
In addition to the existing state taskforce on COVID-19, Uzodimma has also set up taskforces at the local government and ward levels with 28 state-of-the-art ambulances provided to fortify the state’s readiness for any emergency.

Fumigation Exercise

Another major step taken by Governor Uzodimma to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak and other contagious diseases in Imo is the fumigation of the nooks and crannies of the state, which commenced on Sunday.
The governor had earlier directed a complete lockdown of activities in the state to ensure the exercise was carried out unhindered and the desired results achieved.

The pilot fumigation was carried out on Friday but full exercise commenced on Sunday, beginning with the state capital, Owerri, in line with the governor’s directive.

Already, the fumigation exercise has taken place in Orlu and Okigwe zones and would be extended to other zones.
Some indigenes of the zone, who spoke on the these developments, applauded the governor for the initiatives and urged Imolites to cooperate with the government in its efforts to protect the citizens against the deadly virus.
“These initiatives by our able governor are highly commendable. I was happy when I watched the state being fumigated.

This is the first of its kind in the state. It is not about the political party, because I am not a member of APC.
“The governor is doing a great job in the state and we can see his hand in less than three months he assumed office. Even when there is no case of Coronavirus in Imo, you can see that the governor is battle – ready; everything is in place.

“He has a very good team, who has the interest of Imo people at heart.
“We cannot thank God enough for giving us hope when we thought all hope was lost. We therefore urge Imo people to abide by government directives and support all the efforts being made by Governor Hope Uzodimma to save the lives of the good people of the state”, an elated indigene of the state, who is a member of the main opposition party said.

Beyond the fight against COVID-19, the governor has launched the Imo Initiative policy, a comprehensive package that will address the health, security and environmental challenges that bedevilled the state over the past years,
Also, the governor has established an emergency call number 112, a toll free line to enable anyone with any information on COVID-19, disaster or criminal activity to contact the relevant authorities for prompt responses.
The government is also on the verge of providing palliatives in the form of food items and condiments through the local councils to alleviate the hardship of the people.

 

On Wednesday, the federal government commended the efforts of Governor Uzodimma in ensuring that the Coronavirus does not have a hold on the citizens of the state.

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar-Farouk made the commendation when she led a team from Abuja comprising the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, to Imo State government to present some relief materials from the federal government.

 

 

.Nwachi a public affairs analyst writes from Aboh Mbaise in Imo State.