John Okiyi Kalu, Abia commissioner for information, says
many health workers in the state might have been infected with COVID-19 as a
result of unknowingly attending to patients without full protection.
Kalu disclosed this on Monday while responding to questions
on the COVID-19 situation in the state.
The state recorded 15 new cases of the disease on Sunday,
and is now the 16th state with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the
country.
A total of 166 COVID-19 cases have been recorded in the
state.
“The rate of infection of medical workers in Aba is very
high, which means that a lot of COVID-19 patients are presenting themselves to
hospitals and our medics are attending to them without full protection,” he
said.
According to the commissioner, the increasing number of
cases has “compounded Abia’s case with very few spaces left for confirmed
cases”.
Kalu decried residents’ nonchalant attitude to the pandemic,
saying they “vehemently” refuse to obey government’s directives on COVID-19
including wearing of face masks and observing of physical distancing, NAN
reported.
He said such attitude has thrown the city into “a grave
danger”.
The commissioner cited reports from Aba central mosque on
hospital road, which he described as “very dangerous and worrisome for everyone
in the COVID-19 era”.
He added that the state inter-ministerial committee on
COVID-19 has directed the Aba south local government transition committee
chairman to enforce regulations at the mosque on Friday and during other prayer
sessions.
“At the moment, Abia is having more samples than any other
state in the south-east which is good, because unless we identify where this
problem is coming from, we may not be able to deal with it,” he said.
“We’ve done our mapping by local government and one thing is
clear, majority of the new cases are coming from the Aba area and it’s
alarming.
“It looks like all the sensitisation, all the efforts made
by the media, have not worked because Aba people continue to violate the
regulations with regard to face masks’ wearing, and social distancing.
“The churches are part of the problem. It looks like Aba is
a red location for COVID-19 infection and all hands should be on deck now to
stop the spread there.”
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