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 the importation of this virus into our communities, and equally prepared to detect and contain any possible outbreak or spread of the disease”.
Governor Yahaya noted that there are 343 confirmed cases of Covid-19 spread across 19 states of Nigeria and the FCT, adding that 91 cases have been successfully managed and discharged with 10 deaths recorded.
“Fortunately, Gombe State still maintains a zero-case status and we pray and hope that the situation remains so.
“Considering our strategic position as the commercial nerve center 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 of people, goods and services from other parts of the country, including states with confirmed cases of the virus such as Bauchi, Kano and the FCT.
“On Monday 23rd, March 2020, I inaugurated a 23-member Task Force on Covid-19 in Gombe State, under the leadership of a renowned immunologist and public health specialist, Professor Idris Mohammed, in order to guide the response to the Covid-19 pandemic”, the governor recalled.
He said that the taskforce has so far succeeded in providing 150-bed capacity hospital at Kwadon which has been fully renovated and furnished 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 mechanical ventilation and other intensive care needs as well as 50-bed capacity fully equipped facility at Federal Teaching Hospital in the state.
According to him, additional isolation facilities are also being prepared at Funakaye and Kaltungo LGAs in order to ensure effective coverage of the state.
“The Task Force has procured over 200 Million Naira worth of medical supplies and consumables including personal protective equipment (PPEs), which have been prepositioned in all health care facilities across the state”, he said.
The rest of the achievements recorded by the taskforce the Governor said, include capacity building of the frontline health workers to enable them to detect and respond to any suspected case according to the guidelines issued by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Governor Yahaya noted that intensive sensitization and mobilization activities aimed at raising the awareness of the general public on preventive measures against the pandemic have been carried out in all the 11 LGAs of the state.
“Rapid response teams in all the 11 LGAs have been set up in order to manage suspected cases. Arrangements have been concluded to establish a testing laboratory in the state in which PCR machine has been procured and the taskforce is currently engaging NCDC with a view to obtaining the requisite accreditation”.
He said other measures taken to contain the spread of the disease in the state include the closure of schools, stay-at-home order for civil servants from Levels 1 to 12, closure of state boundaries and the ban on large social, economic and religious gatherings.
The Governor while commending the citizens for complying with the restriction order, however observed with dismay the attitude of some community members and security agencies in helping motorists to sneak into the State.
The Governor who disclosed that the samples of the 22 suspected cases sent to NCDC in Abuja for test were returned negative, said it was an indication that the risk mitigation measures taken in the state are effective.
Governor Yahaya who said his administration is mindful of the sufferings occasioned by the lockdown order, assured that the taskforce is working with the Federal Government with a view to expanding existing palliative measures through the Social Investment Program.
