13th December, 2020
By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal
Kwara Medical Advisory Sub-Committee on COVID-19 said a second wave of the pandemic has hit the state.
“It is important to state clearly that we now have the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak in Kwara just like a few other states of the country,’’ the committee’s chairman Dr Femi Oladiji said.
Oladiji stated that the second curve started early in November with sharp rise in the number of positive cases.
“There are two epidemiological curves of the disease in Kwara. The first curve peaked between July and August, and then plummeted between September and October, at which stage people thought COVID- 19 was winding down”.
He attributed the second wave, which began in November to increase in awareness for voluntary testing, nonchalance of many Kwara residents and non-adherence to preventive measures against the disease.
He also blamed the influx of people from outside Kwara and expansion of sampling and testing capacities of the state.
Oladiji said testing has been boosted with the assistance of the Regional Disease Surveillance System Enhancement and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
“Some states started closing their isolation centres when the first phase ebbed.
“However, in Kwara, the isolation centre at COVID-19 Infectious Disease Centre, Sobi, Alagbado, remains operational.
“Statistically, cross-sectional studies conducted by a team of researchers of the Committee on COVID-19 in Kwara, reported that between July 11 and to Aug. 11, the total number of confirmed cases was 500, whereas between Sept. 11 and Oct. 11, total number of confirmed cases dropped to 63,’’ he stated.
Oladiji added that between Nov. 11 and Dec. 11, total number of confirmed cases rose to 180.
This, he said, was an approximate three-fold increase with 17 cases on admission at the isolation centre.
“Residents of the state are, therefore, urged to adhere to preventive measures at all times to limit the spread of the disease,’’ he warned