Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, on Friday, said that the state said the COVID-19 situation in the State is becoming aggravated because of failure of the people to observe the prescribed protocols, such as wearing of face masks in public places, maintaining social and physical distancing and others to keep the virus in check.
The governor said that the 400 confirmed cases of COVID-19 recorded in the state as at June 18 was largely due to the failure of the residents to obey stipulated guidelines for the containment of the disease.
Okowa stated this while speaking with newsmen in Asaba on the state of the dreaded coronavirus in the state.
He noted that Delta recorded 83 new cases of COVID-19 in two days, due to community transmission.
“As at today, we have lost 18 persons to the COVID-19 pandemic in Delta, including very prominent persons, and people are still telling us that there is no COVID-19.
“In just two days (June 17 and June 18), we had 83 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state. In spite of this obvious fact, some residents still doubt the reality of COVID-19.
“I want to plead with our people that it is time for us to realise that there is community transmission of the disease, which can affect anybody, if adequate care is not taken,” he said.
The governor noted that the level of infection was on the rise due to the lackadaisical attitude of people, who erroneously believed that the pandemic was a fluke.
He said that the treatment centres in the state were already full of patients, emphasising that caution was needed to manage the alarming rate of infection and transmission.
Okowa called on the people of the state to be at alert, as the level of immunity of each person differed.
He urged those with symptoms of the disease to go to the hospital for treatment before they became big risk to their family members, friends and colleagues.
The governor said that his administration would do everything possible to manage the situation, even as he appealed to people to avoid large congregations so as to mitigate the spread of the disease.
He, however, expressed worries that some states in the country could surpass the figures recorded in Lagos due to the failure of most Nigerians to comply with all the laid down rules.
According to him, the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic can only be eliminated when the citizens adopt the necessary behavioural change.