IBADAN COMPANY WITH 49 CORONAVIRUS POSITIVE WORKERS SPEAK OUT, REVEALS MEASURES TAKEN TO CURB SPREAD

Bisi Oladele and Yinka Adeniran, Ibadan

 

THE Ibadan-based firm whose 49 members of staff tested positive to Coronavirus, iSON Xperiences, has said it had taken measures to contain the virus and protect its workers.

iSON Xperiences is a personnel outsourcing firm operating a customer centre for two major telecommunication companies. It operates in a building in Dugbe Central Business District of the capital city.

Last week, 30 of its workers had tested positive for COVID-19 with more of the workers testing positive thereafter.

In a statement yesterday, iSON said it had implemented strict COVID-19 pandemic preventive measures, including social distancing, awareness campaigns for employees, mandatory use of sanitiser and face masks, temperature checks and general health checks at the in-house clinic based on World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

The statement reads: “We have ensured contact centre services are available on a 24/7 basis with additional work from home Customer Service Advisors activated and maintained ‘Business as Usual’ for us as well as for our customers.

“Important points with regard to our Nigeria operations – we have some of our employees who were detected positive for COVID-19 at one of our centres in Ibadan.

“Employees with suspected risks have undergone the necessary test and placed in isolation under the supervision of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Together with the authorities, we will ensure the full return of our employees to good health for their eventual resumption back at work.

“As of now, our office premises is temporarily closed for thorough disinfection. We are focused on providing services in a safe and healthy environment, and taking the necessary proactive measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19 virus.

“We thank Oyo State Governor’s Task Force, NCDC and our clients for their invaluable support in handling the unprecedented situation.”

The government had shut the company, following the development.

Governor Seyi Makinde, who addressed the media on Monday on the matter, promised to reveal the name of the organisation on Tuesday.

He said the government decided to keep the identity a secret to allow the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) conclude its investigation.

An initial 30 members of staff were first confirmed positive on Saturday with another eight getting positive test results on Sunday.

In all, 57 members of staff of the same organisation have tested positive while many residents have been apprehensive of the identity of the organisation.

The development brings to 137 the total number of confirmed cases in the state.

Makinde, who gave an update on his social media handle, said contact-tracing of the cases had begun.