COVID-19: 3 LGAs Top In New Cases In Edo State

From Ameachi Prosper(The New Diplomat’s Delta & Edo States Correspondent)

Three cosmopolitan local council areas in Edo State namely  Oredo, Egor and Ikpoba Okha LGAs have been adjudged as accounting for the highest number of COVID-19  cases in the wake of rising figures in the second wave of the pandemic.

The State COVID-19 Incident Manager, Dr. Andrew Obi, who disclosed this during a briefing of the Emergency Operations Centre, chaired by Governor Godwin Obaseki said the matter has become worrisome.

According to him, “We have 30 new COVID-19 cases. Of these, 8 persons tested positive to the virus from Oredo LGA; 8 from Egor and 7 from Ikpoba Okha, while the 7 others were reported from persons drawn from other council areas in the state. This shows that the outbreak is more prevalent in the 3 local government areas.”

He added that there are 159 active COVID-19 cases in the state, noting that the state has recorded 140 recoveries and 5 deaths since it started tracking the second wave of the pandemic since December 1.

He explained that just as in the first wave of the pandemic, more males have contracted the virus than females in the second wave of the surge. “Since the second wave, we have recorded a case positivity rate of 8.7 percent,”, he added.

He said: “However, we recorded 8 new recoveries. Five of those who recovered were managed at Stella Obasanjo Hospital. Three people recovered from the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital.”