On Monday, March 30, 2020, Makinde admitted that he has tested positive for the coronavirus. 

During a PDP mega rally in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, on March 18, 2020, Makinde, who had just returned from a trip abroad, poked fun at the governing APC with the coronavirus.

“They said we shouldn’t do a rally because of coronavirus. But it’s their own leader that said coronavirus is inside their party.... There’s no coronavirus inside our own party,” Makinde had said in Yoruba.

The rally was roundly criticized soon afterwards for its disregard for ‘social distancing’ and its flouting of the ‘shun large gatherings’ rule as prescribed by health professionals and governments.

Makinde issued an apology afterwards, saying the rally was held based on the information he had at the time.

During a radio interview this week, Makinde said “Okay, first, you know we had a rally, I believe two weeks ago and then I have seen the video that has been circulating on social media which is being misinterpreted to mean that I doubted at any time, the existence of Covid-19. 

“The reality is no, I actually never did. I had used Covid-19 in the same metaphorical way that their APC leader did when they were fighting about their chairmanship and he said, well, the virus has gotten into the party.

"So, I made a joke out of it and the video has been circulating that I said there is no coronavirus, that it only exists in the APC. Well, it was a metaphor.

“But to the good people of Oyo State, I want to say again: Covid-19 is real. So, they must follow all the measures the government has put in place to prevent, contain and control this virus.”

Nigeria has currently confirmed 151 coronavirus cases. Oyo state has 8 cases from that tally. 

Oyo state confirmed its first case of the virus on March 21.