Ortese was reacting to alleged report of the alleged outbreak of fresh COVID-19 in Benue was mischievous.
Benue State government has reacted to alleged fresh case of coronavirus, COVID-19 in the state.
The government dismissed the claim.
The government, in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Yanmar Ortese, said there was no confirmed case of COVID-19 in any part of the state.
Ortese said the report of the alleged outbreak of fresh COVID-19 in Benue was mischievous, baseless and a gross misquotation of the World Health Organization, WHO, surveillance officer’s statement that was intended to encourage COVID-19 vaccination.
According to the Commissioner, the last case of COVID-19 in Benue State was recorded in May and all the cases were asymptomatic.
He admonished media practitioners in the state to imbibe responsible journalism by verifying information before disseminating same, as misleading headlines contributed to unwarranted panic and posed great challenges towards achieving the maximum targeted vaccination in the state.