Covid 19: Katsina orders workers back to work

Agaju Madugba, Katsina, John Adams, Minna,  Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi

The Katsina Government has reviewed its stay-at-home directive that all civil servants remain at home as part of measures to contain spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A statement by the Head of the Civil Service, Idris Usman Tune, said Governor Aminu Bello Masari has directed that all workers in the mainstream of the state service to resume work effective from Monday 6 April, and provide skeletal services from 10 am to 2 pm daily.

“This will be maintained for a period of one week. However, all public and private tertiary institutions, secondary and primary schools are too remain closed till further notice.

“Furthermore, workers are urged to, on resumption, continue to observe the social distancing policy, consistent washing of hands and application of sanitisers to ensure that possible COVID-19 spread is is tamed in the state.”

Unions kick as  workers, teachers forfeit 20% of March salaries

As Nigeria battle to contain the Coronavirus pandemic f local government workers and primary school teachers in Niger State are to forfeit 20% of their March  salaries to fight the pandemic.

The decision by the councils to forfeit the percentage of their salaries   was reached at a tripartite meeting between the 25 local government council chairmen, officials of the National Union of Local Government Employees, those of the Nigeria Union of Teachers and the Medical and Allied Workers Union.

The local government chairmen agreed that the workers be paid 80 percent of their salaries for  the month  with the 20 percent set aside to provide some palliatives to the vulnerable to cushion the effect of the stay-at-home directive at the rural communities, including providing other necessary things to tackle possible spread of the Coronavirus.

This decision according to Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) who is also the chairman of Chanchaga Local Government, Mallam Ibrahim Abubakar Bosso was informed by the shortfall in the total amount accruable to the councils from the March Federal Allocation.

But according to a top official of the ministry for local government and chieftaincy affairs who spoke on  condition of anonymity, the amount that was accrued to the 25 councils from the Federation Account in Abuja for March 2020 stood at N3.6 billion whereas the total salary bills was N3.4billion.

Govt begins distribution of palliatives

Kwara  State Government , yesterday  began the distribution of various food items to vulnerable residents in all  its 193 wards  to cushion the effects of lockdown policy to curb the outbreak of Coronavirus in the state.

The distribution of various food items had been concluded in all the 17 wards of ASA Local Government Area of the state.

Each of the beneficiaries got food items like five kilogrammes  of Semovita, 10 kilogrammes of rice, vegetable oil, spaghetti, sugar and other assorted edibles.

Alhaji Bola Olojoku, the President of the Mekunnu Forum Agenda in Kwara State  and member of the ommittee in charge of distribution of palliatives, said  cash was not among items that were distributed .

According to Olojoku, the target beneficiaries of the palliatives are widows, aged, physically challenged and artisans, among others.

He assured that the items were enough to go round the target beneficiaries in all the 195 wards of the state.

“The committee had completed  the distribution in all the 17 wards of the ASA local government area and will move to the llorin West Local Government Area for the continuation of its assignment,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, religious leaders and community leaders  in llorin  have begun the compilation of names of their followers expected to benefit from the palliatives.

Kebbi FMC suspends patients relatives visitations,care givers gatherings

The  authorities of  the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Birnin Kebbi , Kebbi State, have suspended  visitations  to  patients  by relatives.  and large number of care givers  at the hospital to prevent the spread of the novel Coronavirus (Covid 19).

The centre, in a statement, through its Head of Public Relations, Abdulmumin Bawa Yauri, noted that the position of the management was in line with the social distancing directive of federal government to curb the spreading of the disease.

Benue to conduct post -mortem examination on suspected  victim

Benue State Action Committee on Covid-19 has said that  it would conduct a post- mortem examination on the corpse of a young man show is suspected to have died of the novel Coronavirus disease at Okpoga, Okpokwu Local Government Area of  the state..

Daily Sun gathered that the young man had recently returned from Ghana and headed straight to his village in Okpoga, where he was on self isolation  until he suddenly took ill after six days of his arrival.

It  was further gathered that when the suspected victim allegedly began to manifest symptoms of  the disease,, he was taken to the  Okpoga General Hospital and was examined by the resident doctor who then referred him to Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH) Makurdi.

But locals said instead of going to BSUTH as advised, he took himself to  a private hospital  at Okpoga but later died.

Reacting, a member of the  committee and  Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mrs. Nngunan Adinggi,  yesterday,  said it was too early to conclude that he died of coronavirus since no test was conducted on him.

Adinggi,  noted that his family were actually taking him to Abuja for further treatment but he died on the way.

She added that the deceased mother who is also a health worker would be contacted to give further information on the matter in addition to carrying out a post mortem examination on his remains to ascertain the cause of his death.

“What I heard is that, a case of covid 19 was discovered in Okpoga, Benue state today (Sunday). The guy  came back from Ghana, went to his village,  spent six days  in Edumoga where he fell sick an went to General Hospital oOkpoga, where he was referred to St. Mary’s hospital Okpoga and was admitted but decided to go to Abuja.