Abimbola Abatta, Osogbo
The government of the State of Osun has expressed optimism that the State may soon flatten the curve of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This followed Osun’s consistent decline in its daily confirmed cases of COVID-19, which fell below 25 for seven consecutive days.
Osun had been one of the worst impacted by the infection during the second wave, having recorded more than 100 percent of its total infection during the first wave in less than two months.
But the State has in the last one week recorded a reduction in daily case count, at an average of 22 infections in seven consecutive days.
The breakdown of the latest tallies include: Monday (20), Sunday (21), Saturday (24), Friday (23), Thursday (22), Wednesday (24) and Tuesday (22).
Reacting to this, the Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs Funke Egbemode, said the recent statistics of the State was an encouraging development.
“We are encouraged by these recent statistics. This is because the reduction in Osun’s daily confirmed cases is coming after weeks of recording huge figures of the COVID-19 infection.
“While we are not rejoicing yet, we are grateful to our dedicated health workers for their commitment; we are grateful to the State’s Joint Taskforce on COVID-19 for upscale enforcement, and we are grateful to our people for their cooperation with the government so far.
“We are hopeful that Osun will soon exit the second wave of the pandemic if we continue to record further reductions in the next few weeks. But that will depend largely on citizens’ cooperation with the government.
“On the part of the government, hands are on deck to ensure that the curve is flattened in good time so that we all can return to our routines with minimal restrictions. The government has increased testing capacities and has also upscaled enforcement across the State.
“We are calling on citizens to continue to cooperate with the government by complying with the non-pharmaceutical safety protocols released by the government to manage the second wave.
“We should also be reminded that the Coronavirus Disease Health Protection 2021 which makes the use of face masks in public places mandatory, is still in force, and already being enforced by men of the Nigerian Police Force,” Egbemode said.