Some residents of Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, have faulted the government’s decision to designate a part of the state Specialist Hospital as isolation centre in case of outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in the state.
Speaking with The Nation on the development, a Lokoja resident, who asked not to be named, said the decision by the government was not well thought out.
The Commissioner for Information, Hajia Zainab Okino, had after the last weekly State Executive Council meeting, announced the designation of the State Specialist Hospital as isolation centre in case of any reported case of outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in the state.
Faulting the decision, another resident castigated the government for what he described as its penchant for making ill-advised policy decisions.
According to the resident, the choice of the facility as isolation centre for the deadly Ebola virus was as faulty as another recent one made by the government on the choice of routes for its newly introduced intra-city bus transport service.
His word: “That decision is very wrong. In fact, it may be counterproductive. That area that government said is isolation centre in case of outbreak of Ebola virus disease in our state, apart from its compactness, portends the risk of even further spread if such a thing happens.
“That place, aside being located next to the Federal University Lokoja, is also a high density residential area.
“It was like what happened with the intra-city bus service that was introduced last week. Instead of the government to work out better routes that will impact more on the people, the buses have started plying choked parts of the city centre and this is without expansion of the roads to accommodate the buses.
“If we must copy from others, we should get it right and not just to arrive at sensitive decisions that might boomerang.”
Although the Commissioner for Health disclosed that the state had not had any reported case of Ebola outbreak, the government, she said, was being proactive in case of any reported case.
