As front line health workers battle the coronavirus pandemic, 2,557 of such workers in Delta State have been given life insurance by the state government in case of any fatality.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Mordi Ononye, disclosed this in Asaba at a news briefing by the Technical Committee on COVID-19 Response in the state.
According to him, the juicy package is to motivate the beneficiaries even as their allowances were appropriately paid and protective equipment provided to them.
Dr Mordi who was flanked by his Information counterpart, Mr Charles Aniagwu and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Minnie Oseji, disclosed that in collaboration with Irrua Teaching Hospital and PANDORA, a non-governmental organization, the state had opened a mobile molecular laboratory at Asaba specialist hospital in the state capital.
This he said, had greatly boosted the state’s testing capacity and improved on turn-around time from sample collection to results.
The commissioner informed that the total number of samples collected for testing were 425, 386 tested, 39 repeated, 27 found to be positive and 382 negative while 15 samples were discarded and 1 pending.
In view of the evidence of community transmission of the virus in the state, Dr Ononye said the state had begun active case search in 6 of the 25 local government areas in the state.
They are Uvwie, Udu, Warri South, Ughelli South, Okpe, Oshimili South and Oshimili North with particular emphasis on 19 wards.
He appealed to the people of the state to rise against the stigmatization of COVID-19 positive persons, as this has a very negative impact on the willingness of people to attend hospitals for care or show up for testing.
Persons with respiratory symptoms or close contacts shy away from the test, he noted, adding that some end up presenting themselves late which he said, had accounted for the seemingly high proportion of deaths.