Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has directed all staff of the Government House to undergo compulsory COVID-19 tests.
The governor made this known in a statement on Monday signed by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim.
Wike said he ordered the tests in order to know the number of persons that have contracted the COVID-19 virus and to know cases that were yet symptomatic.
According to the governor, the testing will enable the government to provide medical attention to such patients in the state.
He said, “The more we test, the more the numbers will increase and we are willing to continue to test. Let our people know that this is not the kind of sickness to be ashamed of, nobody knows who you have shaken hands with.
“I’m sure in Rivers State, we have lost not less than 38 lives on the record. Nobody will be happy that each day you wake up, you hear that somebody, probably a breadwinner of the family, is no longer there because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In fact, I have given a directive that all staff of government House must go for testing. Nobody knows who is a carrier and we must save everybody as much as we can.”
