The member representing Ede North, Ede South, Egbedore and Ejigbo Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Bamidele Salam, has raised the alarm that some coronavirus patients in Osun State under isolation received their relatives and visitors under the cover of the night.

The lawmaker urged residents of Ejigbo particularly where some recent returnees of the state from Cote d’Ivoire were discovered to be positive to coronavirus, to report anyone suspected to be showing symptoms of the virus to the National Centre for Disease Control.

Salam, in a release on Wednesday, noted that he would be joining hands with the emergency relief committee set up by the state government and community leaders to provide reliefs to the widows and other vulnerable members of the communities.

He said, “I received with concern reports of the positive testing for COVID-19 of some recent returnees from Cote d’Ivoire to Ejigbo in our federal constituency. While acknowledging the good job of the Osun State Government team on COVID-19 which resulted in the isolation and testing of the returnees, I am equally worried about reports that some of the persons in isolation played host to a few relatives under the cover of the night.

“I wish to therefore appeal to our good people of Ejigbo to please adhere strictly to the total lockdown ordered by the state government and also immediately report anyone showing symptoms of infection to the toll free emergency number of the NCDC.

“Residents of Ejigbo and other neighbouring towns are also enjoined to cooperate with all government agencies by observing health advice and directives such as regular hand washing and reasonable social distancing in order to avoid an escalation of the spread of coronavirus.”

Meanwhile, some residents of Ejigbo, Osun State, on Wednesday alleged that one of the 127 returnees from Côte d’Ivoire kept in the isolation centre in the town sneaked out of the premises.

They said the man was forced to return later to the centre because news that he escaped from isolation had spread.

A resident of Eja’s Compound in Ejigbo, Odesanya Nurudeen, told one of our correspondents that the man actually sneaked out of the premises and went to a nearby pub.

He, however, dismissed there was tension in the town over the incident.

He said, “We heard one person escaped. But because the news quickly spread round the town, the man had to return to the isolation centre.

“Government officials may not know one of them actually left the place. It was not like he wanted to escape. He is a merrymaker that must have felt he could not be caged in one place. I don’t know his identity but from findings, he went to drink in a pub.”

Corroborating Odesanya, Bada of Ejigbo, Chief Waliyu Afolabi, dismissed claims that there was tension in Ejigbo over rumoured escape of one of those in isolation.

He said he also heard that one of them left the premises.

But the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Rafiu Isamotu, dismissed insinuations that one of the 127 returnees escaped from the isolation centre.

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