Governor Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe state said on Tuesday that his administration has deployed proactive measures in making sure that the state does not record any positive case of Coronavirus disease.
The Governor who stated this while addressing the press on
Tuesday in Gombe said, “we have taken pro-active measures to prevent theimportation of this virus into our communities, and equally prepared to detectand contain any possible outbreak or spread of the disease”.Governor Yahaya noted that there are 343 confirmed cases ofCovid-19 spread across 19 states of Nigeria and the FCT, adding that 91 caseshave been successfully managed and discharged with 10 deaths recorded.
“Fortunately, Gombe State still maintains a zero-casestatus and we pray and hope that the situation remains so.
“Considering our strategic position as the commercial nervecenter of the North East sub-region, the need for a sustained vigilance,enforcement and control becomes even more imperative”, Yahaya explained.
He said the state has continued to attract movement ofpeople, goods and services from other parts of the country, including stateswith confirmed cases of the virus such as Bauchi, Kano and the FCT.
“On Monday 23rd, March 2020, I inaugurated a 23-memberTask Force on Covid-19 in Gombe State, under the leadership of a renownedimmunologist and public health specialist, Professor Idris Mohammed, in orderto guide the response to the Covid-19 pandemic”, the governor recalled.
He said that the taskforce has so far succeeded in providing150-bed capacity hospital at Kwadon which has been fully renovated andfurnished for the management of mild-to-moderate cases.
The Governor added that the taskforce has also made ready,a12-bed capacity Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the State Specialist Hospital,Gombe, fully equipped for the management of severe cases including mechanicalventilation and other intensive care needs as well as 50-bed capacity fullyequipped facility at Federal Teaching Hospital in the state.
According to him, additional isolation facilities are alsobeing prepared at Funakaye and Kaltungo LGAs in order to ensure effectivecoverage of the state.
“The Task Force has procured over 200 Million Nairaworth of medical supplies and consumables including personal protectiveequipment (PPEs), which have been prepositioned in all health care facilitiesacross the state”, he said.
The rest of the achievements recorded by the taskforce theGovernor said, include capacity building of the frontline health workers toenable them to detect and respond to any suspected case according to theguidelines issued by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Governor Yahaya noted that intensive sensitization andmobilization activities aimed at raising the awareness of the general public onpreventive measures against the pandemic have been carried out in all the 11LGAs of the state.
“Rapid response teams in all the 11 LGAs have been setup in order to manage suspected cases. Arrangements have been concluded to establisha testing laboratory in the state in which PCR machine has been procured andthe taskforce is currently engaging NCDC with a view to obtaining the requisiteaccreditation”.
He said other measures taken to contain the spread of thedisease in the state include the closure of schools, stay-at-home order forcivil servants from Levels 1 to 12, closure of state boundaries and the ban onlarge social, economic and religious gatherings.
The Governor while commending the citizens for complyingwith the restriction order, however observed with dismay the attitude of somecommunity members and security agencies in helping motorists to sneak into theState.
The Governor who disclosed that the samples of the 22suspected cases sent to NCDC in Abuja for test were returned negative, said itwas an indication that the risk mitigation measures taken in the state areeffective.
Governor Yahaya who said his administration is mindful ofthe sufferings occasioned by the lockdown order, assured that the taskforce isworking with the Federal Government with a view to expanding existingpalliative measures through the Social Investment Program.
