Leading food and agri-business company, Olam International, has announced the death of one of its staff (name undisclosed), at its OK Foods subsidiary in Lagos state, after testing positive for COVID-19.
In a statement signed by the spokesperson of the firm, Makul Mathur, the 49-year-old male staff died on April 20, at an undisclosed hospital where he had been admitted a day before, after testing positive for the virus.
The statement said the deceased was a manager at OK Foods, a subsidiary of Olam which had currently been closed as a precautionary measure.
“The 49 years old male, was a manager at our OK Foods business in Lagos, Nigeria, and passed-on on April 20, in a hospital where he had been admitted on evening of April 19, receiving medical care after experiencing symptoms and testing positive for the virus on the morning of April 20.
“We have informed all co-workers and people who may have come into recent contact with him to provide support and to each adhere to the strict self-isolation guidelines recommended by the government, NCDC and WHO.
“As a precaution, three workers from our OK Foods facility who are experiencing mild symptoms are currently isolating at the state health facility.
“Safeguarding our employees and ensuring their safety is our number one priority.
“Last Thursday, on April 16, as a precautionary measure, we suspended all operations and announced the closure of our Okay Foods facility in Lagos State for sanitization and fumigation in line with regulatory requirements.
“We are continuing to implement proactive measures at all our faculties, including enhanced health and safety, additional personal hygiene measures, personal protection equipment, and new working protocols such as staggered shift patterns.”
Nigeria continues to battle COVID-19 pandemic, as the number of confirmed cases continue to grow. According to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the COVID-19 cases rose to 782 on Tuesday.