- Kano’s First Case Attended Congregational Prayers Friday
- Fears of Community Transmission in Kaduna
- Appeals for cooperation on restriction
- Anambra, Kano, Niger record index cases
- More discharged in Lagos, Osun
President Muhammadu Buhari on saturday appealed to Nigerians to continue to stay at home in view of the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world.
Buhari in a statement by his media aide, Garba Shehu, assured Nigerians of the federal government’s plan to provide more interventions to cushion the effects of the lockdown in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun states.
He thanked all Nigerians for their patience, resolve and strong determination to defeat the virus.
He said: “We realize that today, there will be sons and daughters unable to visit their parents and elders that are isolated from young ones. And there will be those who live day-to-day, eating as they earn, who face real and present suffering.
“No elected government would ask more of the citizens of the country that elected them than today we ask of you. But we must ask you – once more – to observe restrictions on movement where they are in place, and follow the instructions of our scientists and medical advisers – stay home, wash your hands, save lives.
“The freedoms we ask you to willingly forsake today will only last as long as our scientific advisers declare they are necessary. But they are essential – world over – to halt and defeat the spread of this virus.
“For those who suffer most egregiously, the government has announced multiple measures to assist: 70,000 tonnes of grains is being released from the National Strategic Grain Reserves for distribution to those most in need, distribution of small cash payments are also being made, and will continue to be made by the federal government in the states and local government areas.
“We ask you to listen and follow public announcements via the mass media for instructions as to how to receive this government support, and learn of more public assistance in the coming days.
“All that the government is asking you to endure is because nowhere in the world today is there any known way of defeating this pandemic. There is no vaccine. And that means there are choices to be made-between continuing as usual, or accepting the restrictions even when they come with unintended consequences.
“But at this darkest hour, it remains our duty to offer you the full and unvarnished truth. This is a global pandemic. 210 countries and territories across the globe are affected. We cannot expect others to come to our assistance. No one is coming to defeat this virus for us.
“Instead, the defeat of the virus in our country will be in our hands alone, we cannot wait for others. We can only depend on ourselves now. And so we must, and we will end this outbreak ourselves as Nigerians, together”.
Kano’s first case attended congregational prayers Friday
The first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Kano State yesterday.
A male victim was discovered after he was admitted to a private clinic along Lamido Crescent in Nassarawa GRA.
Sources at the clinic told Daily Trust that all the staff and patients had been evacuated to one of the isolation centers in the state.
The patient, a former ambassador, was said to have come to Kano from Lagos, probably where he contacted the disease.
Armed policemen were deployed at the clinic, and condoned-off the busy Lamido Crescent, thereby restricting movement. It was further learnt that some neighbours of the clinic were also evacuated from their homes for medical examination.
A resident said his sister who was sent on an errand was prevented from entering her family house.
The patient, Daily Trust gathered, attended Friday prayers at the popular Da’awah Juma’at Mosque along Suleman Crescent in Nassarawa GRA on Friday, a situation that is causing serious concern to government officials.
At Giginyu quarters, Daily Trust gathered, the immediate family members of the patient and his domestic workers have been evacuated to an isolation center. There was tension and confusion in the community following the discovery of the patient in the area, as residents could be seen discussing the matter at different places.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa, who confirmed the case, said the state Task Force Committee on COVID-19 had directed deployment of health personnel to the three identified areas where the patient went prior to the detection of the virus for fumigation.
Daily Trust gathered that the three identified places are Da’awah Juma’at Mosque, the clinic and Giginyu Quarters, where the patient resides.
Shortly after the discovery of the patient, the state Governor Abdullahi Ganduje summoned for an emergency meeting with members of the State Task Force Committee on COVID-19.
Speaking to Daily Trust on phone shortly after the emergency meeting, Dr Ibrahim Tsanyawa said the government had banned tricycle riders from carrying more than one passenger.
“Henceforth, all commercial tricycle riders will carry only one passenger. Any rider caught carrying more than one passenger would face the wrath of the law.
“The task force committee will also meet with Chief Imams of Juma’at mosques and Reverend Fathers to decide on how to operate the places of worships in order to curb the spread of the virus.
“If the meeting decides that we should close the mosques and churches in the state, we will do so for the interest of our people.
Anambra confirms first COVID-19 case, extends lockdown
Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano yesterday announced the confirmation of the first case of coronavirus in the state and extended the shutdown in the state for two weeks.
The governor in a broadcast said he regretted announcing that despite the proactive measures to insulate the state from the pandemic, it still recorded the first case of coronavirus yesterday.
According to reports, the victim came in from Lagos and has been placed in one of the protective care centers in the state.
Niger imposes lockdown after confirmed case
As the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed one positive case of coronavirus in Niger State yesterday, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello has directed the complete lockdown of the state for the next two weeks starting from April 13, 2020.
In an address, the governor said the action became necessary in order to endure the pains of today and avoid the consequential damages of tomorrow.
He disclosed that the confirmed covid-19 case is one Abubakar Sani from Limawa area of Minna, who returned home two weeks ago, adding the he didn’t get access to his family on return but had endangered those he travelled with in the same vehicle as well as other neighbours.
The governor directed that the entire Limawa area in Minna should be quarantined while patrols within the streets of Minna should be carried out extensively.
Kaduna fears community transmission
The Kaduna State government yesterday said the sixth case of coronavirus, a male gateman in Mando area who had no connection with the first five cases, presents a scenario of possible community transmission of Covid-19 in the state, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina Mohammed Baloni, said.
She said the man who recently returned from Lagos, had been evacuated to the state’s Infectious Diseases Centre.
She said he had travelled to Kaduna in a public transport and had contacted authorities when his symptoms worsened.
“It is very difficult and complicated to trace the contacts of a patient who came from Lagos via public transport and has had some instance of local commuting since his arrival,” she said.
“The Rapid Response Team is trying its utmost to elicit from him a list of his contacts so that they can be traced and monitored. He does not know who his fellow passengers from Lagos were. But the team is working to develop an idea of his local contacts in Kaduna, including any vehicles he commuted in and people he met at the hospital he visited and within his neighbourhood,’’ she stated.
Despite recording six cases of coronavirus and the latest fear of community transmission residents continue to violate the curfew as inter-state travels between Lagos and Kaduna continue discreetly.
However, our correspondent gathered that even as the news spread through Mando area of Kaduna, residents went about their daily activities without taking extra precaution. Our correspondent gathered from residents that despite the stringent measures put in place by the Kaduna State government, inter-state travels were still taking place especially from Lagos to Kaduna.
Ibrahim Na Yelwa, a resident of Mando told Daily Trust Sunday that many of the adult male residents of Mando were truck drivers that often travel between Kaduna and Lagos. He said, “my neighbour will also be returning today (Saturday) from Lagos.”
Ibrahima Yakubu, another resident of Mando said the news that the latest case was a residence of Mando had created fear and distrust among residence especially since the identity of the patient had not been made known and his exact location remains a mystery.
“Let me be frank with you, I have already ordered my wife not to allow anybody including neighbours into our home. This is because no one knows the identity of the gateman or the part of Mando he is from. Again, we don’t know the calibre of people he has interacted with since his return from Lagos,” he said.
Yakubu described as unfortunate that luxurious buses were still operating discretely from Mando to Lagos likewise from Lagos to Kaduna despite the lockdown.
However, Dr Sa’id Zakari, a member of the Subcommittee on Risk and Communication under the State Task Force on COVID-19 said all that government now needed to do was to institute a sense of conscience on individuals to make them see reason why they should take the issue of COVID-19 very seriously.
Dr. Zakari described as unfortunate that people continue to violate the restriction order despite all the measures taken to control people passing through Kaduna such as screening, adding that “It is only when the people see reason why they need to practice these preventive measures that we will all be protected,” he said.
Lagos, Osun discharge more patients
The Lagos State government yesterday discharged another four patients from the state’s Isolation facilities, bringing to 50, the number of patients successfully managed and discharged in Lagos.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu who disclosed this on his official twitter handle @jidesanwoolu thanked health workers in the state for their sacrifice, assuring that his government would take care of them.
Similarly, 10 of the 17 patients that tested positive in Osun State have been discharged after they tested negative to the disease twice. Governor Gboyega Oyetola disclosed this in Osogbo yesterday. He said the 10 were among the 127 Ivory Coast returnees, and the remaining seven were responding to treatment.
Delta records third case, restates sit-at-home order
Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa yesterday disclosed that the state had recorded the third case of coronavirus.
According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Olisa Ifeajika, the sample of the third case taken to Irrua Specialist Hospital in Edo for testing returned positive.
“Earlier today, a third case of the COVID-19 was confirmed in the state and the patient is already receiving attention in one of our facilities designated for that purpose,” he said.
US death toll passes 2,000 in one day
- Brazil reports over 1,000 deaths
The United States has become the first country in the world to record more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day.
Figures from Johns Hopkins University showed yesterday that 2,108 people died within 24 hours while there are now more than half a million confirmed infections. The US could soon surpass Italy as the country with the most coronavirus deaths worldwide.
The US now has at least 18,693 deaths and 500,399 confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins, which is tracking the disease globally. About half of the deaths were recorded in the New York area.
