Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, yesterday, declared a nursing mother wanted in the state.

The woman, who bears the name, Amaka Okoro, fled after testing positive for coronavirus in the state.

Governor Obaseki also extended the 10-day dusk-to-dawn curfew in the state by another 14 days, but to now hold between 8pm and 6am throughout the state, in line with Federal Government’s directive, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The governor, through his verified Twitter handle: @governorobaseki, said: “One Mrs. Amaka Okoro, who tested positive for #COVID-19, is wanted for treatment. She is a nursing mother, who has a baby that is already coughing. 

“She (Mrs. Amaka Okoro) lives at 2, Atoe Idubor Street, Off 2nd Ugbor, Benin City. She has been unreachable since her results returned positive.

The Governor while addressing members of the media at the Government house in Benin stated that the State Government alone would not be able to win the fight against coronavirus, without the support of stakeholders.

“Since my last public update, about 10 days ago, I am here to inform you that we have made tremendous progress in the areas of screening, testing and improved awareness of our citizens about the Coronavirus.

“Working closely with the public and private hospitals, we have screened about 20,000 people and tested 297 citizens. The increased screening and testing are the reason for the increased number of cases in the state (37 as at Wednesday night).

“We are aggressively pushing to screen our minimum target of about 500,000 people and test about one per cent of them, which is about 5,000 in the next few weeks. As we increase testing, we are likely to see an astronomic rise in the number of cases in the state.

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“Of the 20,000 people that we have screened and the 297 samples taken, we have recorded 37 confirmed cases as at today (Thursday), discharged eight and lost three people.

“It is worthy of note that late testing is a strong factor leading to fatality. That is why I am advising that everybody should go out for screening at the numerous screening centres in Edo State.”

Obaseki revealed that the various screening centres in the state had been offering free Medicare, free face masks and free multivitamins.

He added: “I am confident that we can beat this virus, if we strictly follow the measures put in place. I want to appreciate the good people of the state for their cooperation and compliance with the curfew, which l imposed 10 days ago.

“I know that the curfew has created inconveniences and loss of income to many families. However, this is the sacrifice we have to make to protect the citizens and their families.

“We have decided to begin another round of palliative distribution to the vulnerable groups in our communities. With the lessons that we learnt in the past, we have put measures in place to make sure that only the targeted people receive the items.”

It is however pertinent to note that the commissioner for health in Borno state had declared two COVID-19 patients missing and wanted last week. Governor Ganduje of kano state also declared 5 patients wanted who tested positive for coronavirus.

According to the NCDC, Edo state has recorded 36 COVID-19 cases, 8 discharges, and 3 deaths.