Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri, Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin, Gyang Bere, Jos and Fred Itua, Abuja
Borno State Deputy Governor and Chairman of the team on prevention and control of COVID-19, Usman Kadafur, has said 55 persons, who tested negative, were among the initial 104 contacts with the index case, a health worker, who was confirmed to have died of coronavirus last weekend in Maiduguri.
Kadafur, at a press briefing, yesterday, said 65 persons have been tested so far and new cases recorded, bringing the total confirmed cases to nine as at Wednesday.
“The nine positive cases have been captured by the National Centre for Disease Control,” Kadafur, said.
Kadafur also said the state recorded a new death from an infected person brought into Maiduguri from Biu, Borno southern town. He said the patient, who travelled from Lagos to Gombe where he became sick before he was brought to Biu, eventually died of the coronavirus disease.
The deputy governor said the state has collected 11 sample from some contact persons in Pulka, Gwoza Local Government where the deceased index case was working before he was brought to a public hospital in Maiduguri.
Kadafur urged the people to cooperate with the government and obey the 14 days lockdown which began on Wednesday night. He said the restriction order was to help the state trace all contact persons and contain the spread of the disease.
He said government was planning some palliative measures to ensure people do not suffer during the lockdown and urged them to show empathy and love to COVID-19 patients, noting that the disease was not a dead sentence.
Niger orders
quarantine of
returning traders from Kano for 2 weeks
Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, has directed some council chairmen to watch-out for and quarantine returning traders from Kano for two weeks as part of measures to curtail spread of coronavirus.
He gave the directive during the distribution and enforcement of compulsory use of face masks across the state in Minna, yesterday.
The 11 local government areas are Tafa, Suleja, Gurara Munya, Paiko, Chanchaga, Bosso, Kontagora, Rijau, Rafi, Mariga and Mashegu.
Bello said he came across some motorists at security check-point at 11 pm conveying traders from Kontagora and Mariga to Kano when he was monitoring the lockdown directive on Wednesday night.
“They said they were going to Kano to return today (yesterday) which happened to be the window day that allow people to go out.
“The situation in Kano is serious, this is not the time for people to leave their communities or states to travel to another state, it is possible the goods they are going to buy might be contaminated,” the governor said.
He noted that Kano was not a place to visit at the moment due to the spread of cases of COVID-19 and directed the chairmen to make arrangement for hotels to quarantine the returning traders for 14 days.
The governor disclosed that the state had banned all interstate travels based on the decision reached during the last teleconference meeting of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and urged residents to remain wherever they were for two weeks.
AbdulRazaq extends Kwara lockdown by 14 days
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara has announced the extension of the lockdown imposed on the state by another 14 days, to further prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The governor announced this, yesterday in Ilorin during the flag-off of the biometric registration of transporters slated to receive soft loans to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown.
AbdulRazaq said the extension of the lockdown by another 14 days was in accordance with the position of the Federal Government and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
He said the state recorded two new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 11.
The governor added that the two new cases were contacts of the previous confirmed cases.
“The lockdown for another two weeks is to reduce the number of cases. As you can see, Kano is going up; Lagos is going up. Even in Kwara, we have two more new cases.
“So, there is the need for boundaries to be locked down to ensure that people are not moving across boundaries to transmit the virus,” he said.
According to the governor, the internal restriction on vehicular movements remains in force, while government will step up measures to gradually lift the restrictions and rejuvenate the economy.
Plateau begins
indefinite lockdown Monday
Plateau Governor, Simon Lalong, said the total lockdown in the state has been relaxed to Sunday midnight and will continue indefinitely from Monday, April 26, 2020.
He said farmers in the rural area, those who sell fertilizer, foodstuff and other essential goods are exempted from the restriction.
In a state-wide broadcast, yesterday, he urged the people to bear with the situation and said it is not the wish of government to give the order.
“As the total lockdown elapses by midnight April 23, 2020, government has adopted the following decision: The total lockdown will be relaxed from midnight of Thursday, April 23, 2020 to 12 Midnight of Sunday, April 26, 2020.
“To enable people re-stock their homes, thereafter, the total lockdown will resume on Monday, April 27, 2020. Details of the next phase of the lockdown will be issued in due course.
“By implication, the earlier restrictions remain.”
Ndume distributes palliatives to
constituents
Senator representing Borno South, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has distributed some food items to indigenes, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and party faithful as part of measures to alleviate the suffering of his constituents.
The distributed items, according to a statement in Abuja, include 600 bags of rice, 600 bags of maize, 100 cartons of macaroni, 200 bags of sugar and undisclosed amount of cash.
Borno South Task Force Committee on COVID-19 also received cash support from the senator to compliment their efforts.
The former Senate leader called on Muslim faithful to use the month of Ramadan to pray for peace in the country.