Obaseki lauds UBTH on synergy for coronavirus testing in Edo

• Delta CP fingers commercial drivers as lockdown violators

Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has expressed satisfaction with the management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) for supporting government efforts in the fight against the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Obaseki made the commendation during a guided tour to the UBTH isolation centre, testing centre, among other facilities. Head of Public Relations Unit of the hospital, Joshua Uwaila, said UBTH testing centre had started testing for COVID-19, following the validation by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

“The validation was announced by the NCDC and echoed by the Edo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Patrick Okundia.

“This achievement was made possible by the collaboration between UBTH and the Centre for Excellence in Reproductive Health Innovation (CERHI), University of Benin. The collaboration, initiated by the UBTH Chief Medical Director, Prof. Darlington Obaseki, provided access to the use of the centre’s Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine for COVID-19 testing,” he said.

According to him, the development will make testing for COVID-19 more efficient, eliminating travelling cost. Meanwhile, Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hafiz Inuwa, has singled out commercial vehicle operators as main violators of the inter-state lockdown ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

Speaking in Asaba while inaugurating the Delta State Joint Technical Task Team (JTTT) on Emergency Response to COVID-19 and Challenges of Movement of Food and Agricultural Inputs in the country, Inuwa warned the violators against hiding under transporting food and agricultural inputs to ferry passengers into the state.

He urged the leadership of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to caution their members against circumventing the rules, and follow the normal routes if they were actually transporting essential commodities to the state.

The state chairman of NUJ, Michael Ikeogwu, who is a member of the task team, assured that the media would give adequate publicity to activities of the team without compromising standards.