Oyetola defends evacuation of foreign returnees to Osun State

• Says action meant to save nation great catastrophe
• Oke raises the alarm over the spread of the virus in the state as index patient recovers

Osun State Governor Gboyega Oyetola has said that if the 127 Ivory Coast returnees to the state had been released to their various states, the implications would have been catastrophic for the nation.

Eighteen of these returnees tested positive to the Coronavirus in the state.

Oyetola, who spoke while briefing journalists on the management of the disease in the state in Osogbo yesterday, said if his government had asked the returnees to return to their various states, it would be very difficult for the governments of their respective states to trace them and that would have endangered many lives.

The governor also announced that the index case of the infection in the state had recovered and discharged, saying that the patient had tested negative to the virus after about two weeks of treatment at the isolation centre.

“As we had earlier indicated in a statement, all the returnees who tested positive are intact at our facility and are undergoing adequate and proper treatment at our care centre and are all stable. We are hopeful that they will soon recover safely from the virus and rejoin their families.

“The 109, whose results came back negative, have been released to join their families. Among them are 11 to Oyo State, two are going to Lagos State, One to Ogun State, three each to Edo and Abia states, four to Delta State and one to Imo State while 85 will remain here in Osun,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Speaker of the state Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, has distributed food items to people of Ilesa-East, his constituency, to cushion the effect of the lockdown.

He said that the gesture was aimed at providing succour for the people irrespective of their party affiliation.

In another development, House of Representatives member, Mr. Wole Oke, has raised the alarm over the frightening spread of the Coronavirus in Osun State.

Oke, in a statement, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, wade into the issue by releasing close to N5 billion as special intervention fund to the state government to fight the virus to a standstill.

The lawmaker, who urged concerted efforts to put an end to the spread of the virus in the state and the country in general, also implored traditional rulers, community and religious leaders to educate their people.