The Governor of Benue State,Samuel Ortom, has confirmed that his wife, Dr. Mrs. Eunice Ortom and Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Prof. Anthony Ijohor,have tested positive for Coronavirus.Ortom in a press briefing Saturday urged people he had contact with in the last 2 weeks to self-isolate themselves.
The Governor also confirmed his Chief of Staff, Hon. Terwase Orbunde and the state Head of Service, Mrs. Veronica Onyeke among others as having tested positive for COVID-19.
The Governor who announced that though he tested negative, the first family had decided to go into total isolation including himself.
He pleaded with the people of the state to go for testing to ascertain their status and take necessary action.
He said,”One lesson that I want Benue people to appreciate and understand is that everybody has to make himself available for testing. The more you test, the more you know your status; when you know that you are positive, then you can subject yourself to treatment.”
When he was asked if government was considering another lockdown, the Governor said the state Action Committee on COVID-19 would sit early next week to look into the situation with a view to considering the next line of action.
He noted that testing positive for the virus was not a death sentence, the Governor urged people of the state to abide by preventive protocols seriously in order to help stop the spread of the virus.
The wife of the Governor had earlier issued a statement she personally signed confirming her status and one of her sons, even as she called on anybody she might have come in contact with to go into self-isolation,followed by COVID-19 testing.
She said,”While I have taken the responsibility to personally call everyone I can recall having had recent contact with to go for testing, I advise anyone who has had close contact with me in the last 2 weeks and the public to go for screening and testing”
By Dung Donald Malou