Edo State has confirmed the death of one person who has not been vaccinated against COVID-19 pandemic, as the state government restates the need for all citizens to get inoculated to remain safe and healthy.

Head of Edo State COVID-19 Case Management, Dr. Osagie Ebomwonyi, stated this during the daily virtual meeting of the COVID-19 Task Force presided over by Governor Godwin Obaseki.

He noted that the new death raised the number of casualties in the third wave of the pandemic to 92, adding that 13 new cases were also reported across the state.

In the last 24 hours, Edo State collected 71 samples, recorded 13 new COVID-19 cases, 87 discharges and one COVID-19 related death, with 166 active cases being managed at various treatment and isolation centres across the state.

“The death is that of an unvaccinated 53-year-old man, reported from the Irrua Specialist Hospital (ISTH). Also, 10 of the new COVID-19 cases were reported at ISTH, with three confirmed from rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) across the state,” he said.

He urged Edo people to embrace the vaccination exercise to get full protection against the virus, adding that the state government had intensified the rollout of the second dose of COVID-19 vaccines in the 18 councils to achieve herd immunity against the virus and contain the third wave of the pandemic.

“As the government intensifies the vaccination of residents, among other measures, to contain the pandemic and ensure the health of citizens, we urge everyone to complement the government’s efforts by getting vaccinated and complying with all non-pharmaceutical interventions to contain the virus, because it is the safest way to defeat the scourge,” he added.