Following the discovery of the index case of COVID-19 victim in Adamawa, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Adamawa chapter, has directed total shutdown of its secretariat.
Mr Donald Dedan, state chairman of the union, who gave the directive in Yola on Wednesday, said the measure was taken to contain the spread of the disease.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adamawa Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, earlier confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the state.
In a broadcast on Wednesday, the governor said the index case had been placed for treatment in an isolation centre at the State Specialist Hospital in Yola.
The affected person, who had come into the state from Kano, had earlier submitted himself after he developed certain symptoms and his sample was subsequently taken.
Gov. Fintiri said efforts to trace people who came into contact with the index case had begun but asked the people to prepare for a lockdown to check spread.
“With this development, the leadership of NUJ will shut down all other activities and businesses at the press centre Yola with effect from Friday April 24.
“While only accredited journalists from various media will cover the daily briefings by the ‘Adamawa COVID-19 Containment Committee’, it is imperative to ask all journalists to adhere strictly to safety measures against COVID-19.
“The NUJ also calls on the COVID-19 Committee to urgently provide journalists covering its daily briefings and other activities with necessary safety materials and resources to enable them perform their function effectively,” Dedan said
The NUJ state chairman urged the public to always see journalists as partners in progress as well as critical stakeholders in the fight against COVID-19. (NAN)
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