Mr C-Don Adinuba, Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Anambra, has urged the citizens of the state to shield themselves from the COVID-19 pandemic following its second wave in Nigeria.
Adinuba made the call in an interview with the Newsmen on Thursday in Awka.
He said the state had recorded 89 new confirmed cases of the virus in its second wave, which had brought a total of 169 confirmed cases across the state as at Jan. 13.
Adinuba said the need to repeat the precautionary call was as a result of a considerable increase across the state, with 453 confirmed cases and 334 persons discharged.
According to him, it is a worrisome situation with the state having recorded a total of 14,267 tests done.
He appealed to the public to comply with all precautionary measures in order to sustain the health safety measures of the state.
Adinuba said the reports from across the state had shown a huge increase in the pandemic, which he said was against the health safety of the public.
He warned that defaulters would be penalised if found going against COVID-19 protocols.
He said the government needed the combined efforts with the public in order to curtail the virus so as to arrest a catastrophic result that might occur in the near future.
Adinuba added that with the confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state since the second wave began three weeks, the state had recorded an average of 40 cases per week.
He said this was in contrast with what the state recorded in the first wave, describing the trend as worrisome.
He said despite the death of some high-profile Nigerians in the second wave of the pandemic, it was disheartening that there were people in Anambra who doubted that COVID-19 was real.
Adinuba said public should not flout the COVID-19 protocols and urged the people to go for tests and possible treatment, which were still free in the state.
He said the Anambra COVID-19 Case Management Team had shown exceptional professionalism and competence as the state had not lost even one patient since the second wave.