Cases in Taraba rise to 15
The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has claimed eight lives in Katsina State, even as eight patients have been discharged after samples taken from them returned negative.
Chairman, State Public Enlightenment Committee on COVID-19, Abdulkarim Sirika, who made this known while briefing newsmen yesterday, also said 83 patients tested positive to the disease.
Sirika said samples of 800 contacts had been taken, and that two additional councils, Rimi and Malumfashi, would be locked down this morning due to the presence of the virus in the area.
He said in addition to Malumfashi and Rimi, 10 councils had already been locked down to curtail spread of the disease, including Daura, Katsina, Safana, Jibia, Mani, Batagarawa, Dutsinma, Matazu, Musawa, and Kankia.
He said tricycle and motorcycle movement would be allowed in 23 councils not on lockdown, but that wearing of face masks, and carrying limited number of passengers, would be enforced.
Sirika lamented that the disease, which had since entered community transmission stage, had seen 14 health workers within and outside government employ contracting the virus.
According to him, government plans to convert the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in the state to a 160-bed isolation centre to create additional space for patients affected by the disease.
Going by the confirmed cases of COVID-19 yesterday as declared by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Taraba is seven higher, bringing its total cases to 15.
Apart from Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Zamfara and Katsina, Taraba ranks six.The new cases, according to the state technical committee, were among the 124 intercepted travellers discharged last week after completing their 14 days quarantine.
Interacting with media men yesterday in Jalingo, the Commissioner for Health who also doubles as the committee chairman, Dr. Innocent Vakkai, said the second sample sent for test after their first results were negative. He urged residents to remain calm as the committee was leaving no stone unturned to prevent further spread of the pandemic.
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