Osun State discharges six more Coronavirus patients

• Oyetola extends lockdown for two weeks, gives palliatives to vulnerable citizens
• PDP accuses state of intolerance

Osun State government has discharged six more COVID-19 patients receiving treatment at its facility in Ejigbo after testing negative twice for the virus in line with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) procedure.

The governor, Gboyega Oyetola, who disclosed this via his official Twitter handle, @GboyegaOyetola, yesterday, said the six were among the remaining seven Ivory Coast returnees at the Ejigbo isolation centre.

Meanwhile, Oyetola has announced a two-week extension to the ongoing state-wide lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19 even as he began payment of palliatives to vulnerable citizens to reduce pains inflicted by the sit-at-home order.

The governor, who stated this in a state broadcast to citizens of the state, said this was to ensure a total defeat of the deadly Coronavirus in Osun State.

The governor had earlier yesterday ordered immediate payment of stipends to 25,907 vulnerable citizens in the state which covers payment of N20,000 each to 15,289 elderly citizens and people living with disabilities under the Special Grant Transfer (SGT) scheme and N7,500 stipend to 10,618 youths under the Public Work Fare (PWF) programme.

He, however, granted a two-day relief to citizens for yesterday and today to enable them go out to replenish their food stock that would last them during the two-week extension, which will start midnight on Friday (tomorrow).

He said the lockdown would be suspended between Wednesday, April 15 and Thursday April 16, 2020 to allow the people re-stock ahead of the continuation of the lockdown.

In another development, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has labelled the administration of Oyetola as intolerant and insensitive for ensuring that one of its members, Saheed Akinloye, was remanded in prison over a Facebook post.

In a statement yesterday by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Diran Odeyemi, the party questioned the insistence of the magistrate on sending Akinloye to prison for a bailable offence.

He said that the insistence of state Ministry of Justice, represented by its Acting Permanent Secretary, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and three other counsel in court on take over of the case was on indication that the administration of Oyetola had already commenced alleged clampdown on the opposition.