COVID-19: No vaccination card, no access to office in Ondo from Nov. 1

Ondo State government said it would commence the enforcement of the ‘no vaccination card, no entry into all state government-owned facilities’, as from November 1, 2021.

The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Segun Odusanya, disclosed at a meeting with the Management and Members of Staff of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Akure, said this is to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the state.

Odusanya who maintained that presentation of the COVID-19 Vaccination Card and compliance to its protocols are the gateway pass to the workplace from the 1st of November 2021, said anybody who wanted access into any state government offices, must present his or her card to gain access.

He explained that the meeting became necessary to intimate workers and residents of the state on the directives earlier issued by the Head of Service, Mr. Niran Adeyemo that any civil servant on the payroll of the state government but not vaccinated will not be allowed into the office by November 1, 2021.

He vowed that the law would be enforced, urging workers in the state to see the directive as a means of protecting workers, and advised the workers to get vaccinated, saying, “the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over but that there is a more deadly variant, hence the need to be vaccinated and to obey the COVID-19 protocols”

He urged them to prioritise their health by doing routine checks of their blood pressure, blood sugar, and other necessary checks as certain deaths can be prevented if one is careful and sensitive.

“We are appealing to our people to get vaccinated because that is the most suitable way of preventing the severity of the disease when you have it and also avoiding death, the enforcement team will commence work tomorrow as a way to help us reduce the number of cases and deaths we are recording daily.

“If you have to enter the state secretariat you must have your vaccination card, we are going to implement this in all the key areas to ensure that we don’t have persons being infected.

“Be conscious of your health, do routine checks. Be up and doing on your jobs, stay in your offices, face the reality of the economic situation in the country, don’t spend recklessly, and make good use of the little that is available to you and all will be well.”

Meanwhile, with increasing efforts by the government to vaccinate more Edo residents with the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines, the state has continued to record a decline in the number of confirmed cases, recording no new cases in the last 72 hours.

Head of Edo State COVID-19 Case Management, Dr. Osagie Ebomwonyi, disclosed this during the daily virtual meeting of the State COVID-19 Taskforce, chaired by Governor Godwin Obaseki.

Ebomwonyi said the state also confirmed the death of one more person from the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH), urging residents to endeavour to get the full dose of COVID-19 vaccination in order to get protection against the virus.

According to him, “Our effort at vaccinating the majority of Edo citizens with the COVID-19 vaccines is already yielding positive gains as infections from the virus have continued to reduce.

“In the last 72 hours, we recorded no COVID-19 infection from the 420 samples collected within the 72-hour timeframe, with nine discharges and a test positivity rate of zero percent. We also confirmed another COVID-19-related death, involving a 65-year-old female reported from ISTH.”

Noting that the state has intensified the vaccination of more residents to contain the pandemic, protect citizens and achieve herd immunity against the virus, the case manager said the state’s vaccination team is visiting markets in the metropolis, where mobilization and sensitization is being done to increase vaccine uptake.

“To sustain the gains recorded in the fight against this common enemy of mankind, it is necessary for all citizens to get vaccinated and ensure strict compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions against the spread of the disease. This will ensure that Edo people are safe and protected from the deadly pandemic,” he stated.

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