COVID-19: ABIA GOVERNOR OKEZIE IKPEAZU TESTS POSITIVE

The Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, has tested positive for COVID-19, the state government has said.

The commissioner for information in the state, John Kalu, said this in a statement on Monday. According to him, the governor had gone into isolation before his result returned positive.

”Recall that on Saturday, 30th May, 2020, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu volunteered his sample for COVID-19 test and subsequently directed members of the state Executive Council (EXCO) and those of the inter-ministerial committee on COVID-19 to submit themselves for the same test. On Tuesday, 2nd June, 2020. The result of Governor Ikpeazu’s test returned negative,” he said.

”On Thursday, 4th June, 2020, the Governor submitted another sample at NCDC laboratory for confirmation and the result returned positive.

”As a result, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has gone into isolation, as required by relevant NCDC protocols, and he is being managed by a competent team of medical practitioners with a view to nursing him back to good health”, he said.

It will be recalled that Governor Ikpeazu was abroad when COVID-19 started to rage and by the time he returned, he was advised to self-isolate but he didn’t. Even though that was a long time ago, he knows any admission of being COVID-19-positive will likely fetch him some backlash.

Shortly after his arrival, he attended a Facebook live chat with Onyebuchi Ememanka, his Chief Press Secretary, during which he said: “Abia is the only state that is mentioned in the Bible. We have a promise from God that none of these diseases will touch God’s people. And I hold on to God’s promise. We saw Ebola; it did not get to us. We saw monkey pox; it didn’t get to us. Even this one [Coronavirus] will also pass us by.”

In a figure released by the NCDC on the 7th of June 2020, 260 new confirmed cases and 12 deaths were recorded in Nigeria

The 260 new cases are reported from 19 states- Abia(67), FCT(40), Lagos(38), Ogun(19), Gombe(16), Edo(14), Imo(9), Kwara(8), Katsina(8), Nasarawa(8), Borno(8), Kaduna(6), Bauchi(5), Ekiti(4), Niger(2), Ondo(2), Plateau(2), Kano(2),Sokoto(2)