- Unveils 100 beds isolation facility
Abia State government has urged Muslim faithful in the State to perform their Eid prayer and mark their Eldi Fitri celebration at home.
This was disclosed by the Commissioner for Information, John Okiyi-Kalu, during a radio programme.
According to Okiyi-Kalu, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu gave the Muslim community the directives after meeting with their leaders on Thursday.
“The governor has told them to hold their Eid prayers at home and not in the usual Eid praying ground. The governor also urged them to mark the Salah at home and avoid the usual visitation of family members.”
The Information commissioner said that the essence of the governor’s directive is to limit transmission of COVID-19 among family members.
Meanwhile, the governor has commissioned a new 100-bed isolation facility with full complement of medical equipment at the Amachara Specialist Hospital, Umuahia South Local Government Area.
Speaking while commissioning the facility, Ikpeazu noted that the isolation facility would help the State government in the management of COVID-19 patients.
He said: “Our strategy in Abia State is to keep the virus away from the State and its environs and in the event of any infection be able to nurse patients back to health”.
Ikpeazu stated that the new facility has helped to increase the State’s capacity to deal with the virus and pointed out that his administration is continuously improving its capacity to deal with the pandemic and its aftermath.
He further disclosed that soon, the State would have three molecular labs to join the league of states with capacity to test suspected cases of coronavirus from their localities, adding that plans are underway for the training of more medical lab technicians to compliment those already working in the available laboratories in the state.
The governor promised to preserve and put to use all the equipment donated to the State as they are timeless and robust equipment that would be useful beyond the COVID-19 pandemic era.
He disclosed that his administration has paid for 3 units of genexpert machine from the United States of America.