Following its index case of COVID-19 on Friday, the Governor of Anambra state, Willie Obiano has ordered total lockdown of the state.
Obiano directed that security operatives to arrest violators of the new order where necessary.
This directive was issued by the Governor on Saturday during a broadcast to the state on the new development.
According to him: “Ndi Anambra, I regret to announce that despite our proactive measures to insulate our dear state from this pandemic, we recorded the first case of Coronavirus in the state Friday.
”The index case came in from Lagos. He has been placed in one of our Protective Care Centres.
“At the same time, we have commenced aggressive Contact Tracing to ensure that everyone he came in contact with is brought into the net for a professional handling that will save lives.”
He added: “Ndi Anambra, I urge you not to panic over this. It did not take us by surprise. We are adequately prepared to handle the situation”
“We have trained enough manpower on how to handle Covid-19 cases and our Protective Care Centers are among the best in the country at the moment”
Obiano, further announced new measures to be taken to contain the spread of the virus.
Such measures, he said, included restriction on movement which had been extended by two weeks.
He said: “This time, we are placing a comprehensive lock down on Anambra State. We shall not tolerate any movement across the state by individuals and groups”
“Only people on essential services are permitted to move around in the delivery of those services to the people”
“Ndi Anambra are advised to stay indoors to avoid getting contaminated by this virus.
“The security agencies will enforce the restriction on movement this time and they have my authorization to make arrests where necessary to keep our dear state safe”
“All boundaries with neighbouring states remain closed. There will be no vehicular or human traffic across all the boundaries of Anambra State.”
