Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, has tested positive for the deadly COVID-19.
The governor announced this in a statement he personally signed on Saturday.
This is coming just as his Abia State counterpart, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, announced his recovery from the virus.
The Ebonyi governor, who said some of his aides also tested positive for the virus, however stated that they remained asymptomatic and have since self-isolated themselves in compliance with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control protocols.
Umahi also directed his deputy, Kelechi Igwe, to take over the administration of the state while advising residents to take all precautions outlined by health authorities to curb the spread of the virus.
Recall that the governor had sent in his samples after some government officials tested positive for the virus.
Meanwhile, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has recovered from coronavirus, the state government said in a statement on Saturday.
Abia State Commissioner for Information, John Kalu, said the governor’s samples submitted on Thursday returned negative on Friday.
According to him, “To the glory of God, repeat COVID-19 test conducted by Nigeria Center for Disease Control on samples submitted by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu on Thursday, 2nd July, 2020, returned negative result on Friday, 3rd July, 2020.
“Governor Ikpeazu is therefore deemed free of the virus according to the extant guidelines of NCDC and the World Health Organisation.”
Recall that Ikpeazu had tested positive for coronavirus and had immediately gone into self-isolation.
On Friday night, NCDC announced that Abia had recorded 382 infections, including 207 recoveries and three associated deaths.