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 Governor Nyesom Wike implored residents to get vaccinated and comply
with safety and social distancing rules amid a consistent rise in
COVID-19 infections over the past two weeks.
"We may be constrained to re-impose the suspended COVID-19 lockdown
measures across the state if the transmission of the disease
continues to increase beyond tolerable limits," Wike said in an
address on Monday. Wike shared a copy of the speech with Reuters on
Tuesday.
Rivers state capital Port Harcourt is the gateway to the Delta
region. Movement restrictions last year impinged on oil companies'
ability to move workers around the region and forced some to delay
or curtail maintenance https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-oil-maintenance-an-idUKKBN22V0LT.
The state's 10,809 confirmed COVID-19 cases make it the third
worst-hit state in Africa's most populous country, after Lagos and
the federal capital territory of Abuja.
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 On August 26, the state
recorded 263 cases - the highest daily count
since March 2020. The state has also recorded a
total of 137 deaths. Wike also
appealed to religious leaders and churches to encourage their
members to get vaccinated and comply with the COVID-19 protocols.
Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, is battling a third wave of
COVID-19 infections. The country began its vaccination campaign in
March with nearly 4 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca shots
provided via the COVAX scheme, and has since received millions more
doses of AstraZeneca and Moderna shots. However it has also
struggled with vaccine hesitancy.
(Reporting By Tife Owolabi and Fikayo Owoeye, editing by Libby
George and Raissa Kasolowsky)
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