Claims suggesting that the local delicacy, Amala, cures COVID-19 have been dismissed by the Kwara State Government.
During the daily routine meetings of the Medical Team of the Kwara COVID-19 Technical Committee, Dr Abubakar Ayinla, the Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Health, dispelled the claims on Tuesday, April 14, in Ilorin.
Ayinla mentioned that the state government has established Risk Communication teams to manage rumors and fake news related to COVID-19.
He clarified that the Risk Communication teams were set up to allay fears of misconception and emphasized that there is currently no cure for COVID-19, and amala cannot cure it.
Ayinla also informed that the confirmed patients with COVID-19 at the Sobi Isolation Centre were doing well and that the state government is providing for their necessary needs.
Dr Michael Oguntoye, the Director of Primary Health Care at the Ministry of Health, added that the state presently has three COVID-19 isolation centers across the state.
He mentioned that the Sobi Isolation Centre currently has 300 bed spaces for different levels of care, including the intensive care unit and high-risk unit.
Oguntoye noted that the entire Sobi hospital has been converted to an Isolation center and also informed about the Hajj Transit Camp being turned into an Isolation center with the establishment of another Isolation camp at Offa.
As per the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the state currently has four confirmed cases of COVID-19.