The Akwa Ibom State Government has described as untrue reports making the rounds that the state government has stopped picking medical bills of COVID-19 patients in the state.
The Punch gathered that the state Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Ini Ememobong, made the clarification while speaking with newsmen this week.
The commissioner, who acknowledged the rising number of COVID-19 cases fueled by the new variant, however, said the state is not contemplating another lockdown as speculated in some quarters.
“We are not having only people with symptoms tested, the numbers that we have are as a result of the aggressive testing being carried out by the state government.
“We are not overwhelmed by the numbers, the state government is conscious of the high numbers, a lockdown is also an option, but it is not being contemplated and we are still treating COVID-19 patients, free of charge,’’ he said.
The commissioner also attributed the scarcity of food being experienced in many states including Akwa Ibom to the pandemic, adding that following the pandemic, many states were unable to return to intensive farming as was the practice prior to the pandemic.
He said the state government is supplying seedlings to farmers as part of measures to boost food production while new value chains are being created in coconut farming and plantation.