Athletes and officials in the Kogi State contingent to the 20th National Sports Festival holding in Edo State have tested negative for COVID-19, the state Director of Sports, Onipe Halli, has said.
Halli, who confirmed the development to newsmen on Sunday in Benin, said the result was also affirmed by the Local Organising Committee.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that all athletes and officials participating in the sports fiesta, tagged: “Edo 2020,” underwent COVID-19 screening at the Games Village in the University of Benin.
Halli said the Chairman of the LOC and Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, had said two athletes from Taraba and Oyo States failed the test.
Halli said the results had further vindicated the position of the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, that there was no coronavirus in the state.
He said: “All team members that made up the Kogi contingent to the 2020 NSF were tested negative for the COVID-19 virus after series of tests conducted by the medical team.
“The contingents were subjected to rigorous tests by the team from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and were all declared negative.
“After the test, which is a pre-requisite for all athletes and officials to participate in the games, all 41 athletes and 35 officials from Kogi tested negative.”
According to Halli, the Kogi State contingent received their COVID-19 test results on Sunday, while other states still await their results.
NAN recalls that the Kogi State government had engaged in a face-off with the NCDC over the status of coronavirus in the state.
The state, however, recorded five confirmed cases of the virus with zero deaths, a position the NCDC insisted was occasioned by lack of adequate testing in the state.