Palpable fear gripped residents of Taraba on Monday following the announcement by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that the state has recorded 8 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Governor Darius Ishaku said during an address in the state on Monday that the 8 cases were among the 130 persons arrested while trying to enter the state from Lagos, Borno Bauchi, Kano, Jigawa, and Ogun states.
He said the returnees were being quarantined at the state National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camp, adding that contact tracing had begun.
The governor said there was no cause for panic as additional manpower and resources had been deployed to check the spread of the virus.
He said all borders in the state remain closed and security agents were directed to ensure full compliance to the lockdown.
Darius urged the people to stay at home, maintain social distance and personal hygiene.
He said treatment centres had been set up at the Federal Medical Centre Jalingo and Specialists Hospital Jalingo, adding that and effort was on top gear to equip100 bed-isolation centre donated by Access Bank.