The Delta State Government has set up a response team in the wake of the reported case of Coronavirus in the country.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Mordi Ononye, made the disclosure at a media briefing on Friday in Asaba.
According to him, the team is headed by Dr Belu Abaye, the Head of the Rapid Response Team of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
He said that following the reported case of the virus in Lagos, Delta has been put on red alert to forestall the virus from spreading to the state.
Ononye said a response team has been constituted “to handle any case of the virus in the event of any eventuality.
“I receive calls about the outbreak of Coronavirus in Nigeria. Over the past weeks, there has been tension in the state over Lassa fever, which about 62 cases have been reported.
“Today again, we are here for another briefing to sensitise residents of Delta not to panic over this Coronavirus.
“The state has already taken proactive measures to curtail the possible spread of the virus. All entry points to the state, the Asaba Airport, the Warri Port, Koko Port, Sapele Port and other boundaries across the state are on red alert.
“Also, there will be holding centres across the state to monitor if any case of the virus arises,” Ononye said.
In a remark, the Head of the Emergency Operation Centre of the Rapid Response Team, Dr Ann Ojimba, noted that Delta was among the six states of the federation with the high risk of spreading the virus.
She said this was so because of the demographic nature of the state’s borders with its neigbours.
She urged residents of the state to imbibe the culture of hand washing and maintain five feet distance away from someone while coughing, due to the airborne nature of the virus.
