COVID-19: Kano Situation Is Anticipated, We’re Not Surprised, Says FG

Nigerian Government says the recent situation of things in Kano did not come as a surprise to it as it has always envisaged such occurrence due to the dense nature of the state population.

The Director General of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said the agency was not surprised with the high number of coronavirus cases being recorded in Kano State.

Ihekweazu who spoke at the Presidential Task Force daily press briefing on Monday, disclosed that the COVID-19 test laboratory centre at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), in Kano has now been reopened.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, had said that it suspected activities at the laboratory due to dearth of reagents.

He said a national response team made up of 16 people had been deployed to the state, assuring that the state will continue to receive the support of the Federal Government.

 

Recall that residents of Kano had expressed palpable fears over the strange disease ravaging the state which has killed many people, including prominent indigenes and high-profile persons, in the city almost on a daily basis in the last on week.

Some media reports averred that nearly 600 persons were killed during that period.

Ihekweazu added that the NCDC has strong ties with the Kano state governor and agency was doing everything humanly possible to restore normalcy in the state, adding that there was no short cut in handling the situation but it will definitely be subdued.

The NCDC boss said, “I will like to remind everyone that during a pandemic, the risk of spread is to those areas where the population density is the highest.

 

“We are all aware of the population density in Kano; so Kano has always been very high on our radar.

 

“The high number of cases that we are now seeing in Kano is really not a surprise and we are very concerned about this and we are doing everything we can.

 

“Despite our strong commitment to quickly control the spread of the coronavirus, there is no magic bullet; if anyone has one I will be happy to get it.

 

“But as much as there has been this conversation, our role is to continue to work very hard on behalf of everyone, for the people of Kano and the people of state in the country.

 

“So what exactly are we doing? Firstly, is to mention that Kano has been one of the states we have had strongest relationship with at NCDC. There is no single state I have visited more often since I became the NCDC DG in 2016 than Kano.

 

“Just last week, I visited Kano and met with the governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje and we had very fruitful discussion.

 

“We did everything possible to activate the Kano lab, but sometimes speed also has consequences. So we had to pause and shut the lab for the safety of workers at the lab.

 

“The Kano lab will go functional today. Everybody is working hard to get the lab working.

 

“We remain focused on our targets, which is to increase testing across the country.

 

“We are also working hard to investigate the causes of the deaths in Kano.

 

“This is a time for leadership, solidarity and not the time to point fingers. We understand it is a marathon and not a sprint,” Ihekweazu said.