Covid-19: Despite fumigation, Kwara residents knock govt response to market where suspected index case traded

By Mumini AbdulKareem
Kwarans continued their criticism on Thursday over the response of the Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq led state government to the Covid-19 pandemic in the state.
Residents who had criticised the government preparation to the pandemic so far expressed worry over the alleged lackadaisical attitude of the government after the death of the suspected index case.
The wife of the deceased who is a trader at the popular Yoruba road market in the state have since tested positive to the covid-19 after the death of her husband, Alhaji Muideen Obanimomo who hails from Offa Local Government.
Some of the market women, who were co-traders in the market, reportedly visited the wife of the late Obanimomo to condole with her over the demise and also attended the burial before she tested positive to the virus raising fear of a possible outbreak and further spread of the pandemic through the market.
Multiple sources confirmed to National Pilot on Thursday that the woman was a trader at the market.
A resident who visited the market on Tuesday expressed surprise with the altitude of the government after the outbreak of the virus in the state as regarding the market.
“The governor is saying that they are prepared for the covid-19 but the situation in this market is a far cry from that. I don’t think they are really prepared for the any possible spread. By now, this market should have been in total lockdown and some of most of the traders quarantined or isolated. But what do we have here, business as usual and also all the shops were opened for business. It was even some bank officials nearby that warned us not to stay long in the environment”, the resident added.
Also another resident who also ply the market to his place of work daily told National Pilot on telephone Thursday that “Except the fumigation, the government has not done anything about the market, people are still going there (as if nothing has happened). That place is my route to my place of work every day. Government should lockdown that area and its environs.
“And already now, some have started interpreting the governor’s action in political and ethnic garb. The argument among some Offa indigenes is that why close down Offa when it was only the corpse that was brought to the town and yet Ilorin where the man was treated for some days and the people there visited the wife almost daily to condole her was not”, he source added.
But in her reaction to the issue, one of the shop owners at Yoruba road who confided in National Pilot said since the incident, she has not visited the market of fears of the virus which she said has affected sales.
According to her, those that visited the wife of the deceased where only a handful of people adding that some of us where not even aware of the issue until much later.
“Some of the narratives that had come out of this episode had been saddening to say the least. Yes, the woman in question was our colleagues and yes, some people visited her after the incident, but it was just a handful of people and that should not warrant the closure of the market. The woman in question unfortunately has become a subject of stigmatization which is another psychological issue of its own. I think people should fear Almighty God in whatever they doe and desist from profiting from peoples predicament”, she added.