Cote D’Ivore returnees who are in isolation center in Osun State have lamented poor treatment and welfare by the official of the state government.
The returnees aired their grievance today (Saturday) when the deputy governor, Mr. Benedict Alabi visited the isolation centre.
The police who are guiding the isolation center in Ejigbo also lamented over poor welfare and lack of protective wears.
A policeman who addressed the deputy governor on behalf of about 75 other security officers told the deputy governor that they lack protective wears at the duty post.
He said, they only received only a paltry sum of N1,000 for the past three days after resuming duties in the isolation centre and were not given any food or drinks by the officials of the state government.
He noted that they have not been given nose masks, hand gloves, and other protective wears, saying with the peculiarities of the environment in the isolation centre, the provision of protective materials was critical for their health.
Responding, the deputy governor, who also doubles as the chairman, COVID-19 Taskforce Committee in Osun assured that all their complaints would be looked into, just as he charged them to be effective in providing security at the isolation centre.
Addressing the journalists at the isolation centre, Alabi contended that none of the returnees from Cote d’Ivoire, who tested positive escaped despite the official statement issued by the Commissioner of Information, Mrs. Funke Egbemode that the escaped returnee had been found.
Alabi who is also the chairman of the COVID-19 Task Force Committee said, “there is a mixup we are trying to sort out in the laboratory and another state which I won’t mention now. None of the Cote d’Ivoire returnees that tested positive is missing, they are all in the isolation centre.”
“All those who came into the state, we profile them by getting their phone numbers, addresses and that of their next of kin. Some of them did not believe the test we did which is the reason why we have security personnel around them. We have 17 of them tested positive and they are inside the isolation centre.”
“We are trying our best to see that we are fully prepared in Osun State that is all the effort we are making. All the index cases we have in the state are in the isolation centre and being taken care of and all the ones that are negative are preparing to leave for their various homes.”
“When the issues of the foreign returnees came to Ejigbo, we converted the General Hospital to isolation centre. We want to decentralize our isolation centre. We have in Ejigbo, Ile-Ife, and Osogbo, We are working on Ede’s own.”
However, the spokesperson of the returnees, who tested negative, Alhaji Mojeed Animashaun, an indigene of Iwo appreciated the state government for their kind gesture, just as he apologised for their hitherto unruly behaviour.
This was just as all the returnees who tested negative and not from Osun State left the isolation centre in Ejigbo yesterday for respective states.
From the breakdown of the figures, 11 of them are from Imo, Abia, Delta and Edo, 11 from Oyo State, two from Lagos, while one is from Ogun State.
