Ondo State is set to become the first state in Nigeria to deploy the use of drones to combat the spread of COVID-19 pandemic

Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN yesterday received in audience some young innovators at Nigeria Flying Labs South-West and Beat Drone, who went to show him how they are re-purposing agricultural drones for disinfecting public sites. Governor Akeredolu disclosed this via his twitter account.

In this tweets: "The young innovators at @Ng_FlyingLabs & @beatdrone showed me how they are re-purposing our agric drones for disinfecting public sites to help stop the spread of #COVID19 . They also gave me their progress report on the drone assembly plant they are setting up in Akure."

" Looking forward to a "Made in Ondo State" stamp on their drones."

The call for social distancing gives credit to the use of drone for effective disinfection of streets and cities without putting the operators in danger of contacting the COVID-19 virus.

Using drones remotely reduces the need for people to enter contaminated areas to disinfect them and their chance of becoming infected. This means that drone operators would not require full PPE, which are scarce now in the market.

Depending on the application, drone spray can be fifty times more efficient than people spraying. A drone can spray 600,000 sqm/day - that's the equivalent of 50—100 workers.