By Audrey Lotechukwu
TUE, MAY 05 2020-theG&BJournal- Kano State has the longest list of what it requires to contain the wild spread of the coronavirus in the country.
The items on list read out to Members of the House of Representatives today by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman, Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha ranges from manpower Support, equipment Deployment, palliatives delivery to testing capacity and treatment centres. They are either not adequate or non-existence, more than 4 months after the COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic on 30th January, 2020 and made its way into the country.
The absence of these items has gravely impacted the state which is fast emerging as the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in the North. The State, as at 4th May 2020 has 365 confirmed cases but has witnessed some strange deaths in recent times which could not immediately be linked to the deadly disease. Officially the State has recorded 8 deaths. No patient is yet to be discharged.
The strange deaths raised concern across the country and prompted special attention from the President, Muhammadu Buhari, who ordered a two weeks lockdown.
The PTF has since started working closely with the Kano State Government and key stakeholders to identify the issues and seek immediate solutions.
‘’We have deployed a technical team of 41 staff from NCDC supported by 17 staff from WHO to provide technical assistance to the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC). A team of clinicians and public health experts under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Health is also in Kano to provide training on case management and strengthen the capacity of the State to handle emergencies,’’ says the SGF.
According to the SGF; ‘’ A key weakness of the Kano COVID-19 response is the lack of adequate manpower for surveillance and contact tracing. The PTF has mobilised resources from across the health sector including multilaterals, bilaterals, MDAs and the private sector to push through an accelerated expansion of the rapid response teams (RRTs) from 21 to 50.
‘’This required the provision of 30 additional vehicles from INEC and 15 ambulances from the PTF and private sector. A further 10 hilux vehicles and 10 ambulances have also been pledged by the private sector.’’
The measure also includes the mobilising of about 3300 informants through the WHO/polio programme for house-to-house search and reporting of suspected cases.
The SGF said the Federal government will in due course announce significant additional material and technical resources to complement the State government’s efforts in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in Kano. It will as well be working with partners to establish at least one sample collection centre and two facilitators per LGA, in addition to a 7-day motorised campaign across major urban areas in Kano.
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