Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has distributed 700,000 facemask to various beneficiaries in the state in an effort to tame the spread of coronavirus Pandemic.
The State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed who flagged off the distribution of the masks at the multi-purpose indoor sport Hall in Bauchi, said that the initial plan was to reach one million people with facemask.
He said due challenges of space and logistics, the State government could only afford to produce 700,000 face mask at the moment.
The governor who was represented by his Deputy, Senator Baba Tela said the essence of the distribution of the facemask was to embolden the citizens of the state to adhere to NCDC guidelines on the fight against the dreaded virus.
Governor Bala said the NCDC protocol on combating the spread of the infection requires amongst others, ensuring physical distancing, wearing of face masks, contacting tracing and Isolation.
“As we are aware, a primary means of transmission of the deadly virus is among others, the emission of small respiratory droplets of the virus from infected individuals”, warning that people should adhere to safety protocols in their collective interest.
He said the State Government has directed the 20 local government Caretaker Committee Chairmen to produce 10,000 face masks each and distribute accordingly.
“Government has also concluded arrangement to commence community active case search(community testing) in three local government areas of Bauchi, Kirfi and Bogoro.
“This is in line with the NCDC guidelines of actively testing people to ensure that the virus is eradicated in the state”, the Governor added.
The governor reiterated the commitment of his administration towards the provision of quality healthcare to the people of the state, adding that the North-East Development Commission had established the Bauchi State Molecular Reference Laboratories at the State Specialist Hospital and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital.
