Oba of Benin speaks on covid-19

The Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, on Friday called on residents of Edo State to adhere to safety in order to stay free from the ravaging COVID-19 disease pandemic.

The monarch also compared the COVID-19 pandemic to the Black Death (also known as the Pestilence), regarded as the most devastating pandemic recorded in human history.

According to the monarch, the only difference between the Black Death and COVID-19 was that while the former did not spread across all parts of the world, the latter did.

The monarch, who chairs the Edo State Traditional Council, stated this during a visit to the Edo State Government House, Benin to access the response of government to the pandemic, according to a statement.

Oba Ewuare II was quoted as calling on the people of Edo State to apply precautionary measures and comply with the government’s guidelines to prevent the COVID-19 spread.

Read also: COVID-19: Let’s pay short-term price for long-term goal, NCDC tells Nigerians

He said: “The coronavirus is even more than what they used to call the Black Death in Europe in those days, just that it (the Black Death) wasn’t global; but COVID-19 is global and not limited to any region.

“Although we have our government both at the state and federal levels trying to allay our fears over the pandemic, it’s really very dreadful. You have to be very cautious; be scared of this virus.”

“If schools and businesses are being closed in Nigeria and institutions are shutting down in the United States, United Kingdom and other developed countries of the world; if Nigeria is banning travel from European countries that used to be our supposed greener pasture, where our people used to run to for better lives, then this is a very serious matter.”

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