Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe
Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has assured that his administration is ready for any eventuality regarding the global pandemic of novel Coronavirus and that plans to establish a molecular laboratory for testing viruses in the state are in top gear.
According to the governor who unveiled about 200-bed capacity isolation and treatment centre yesterday in Gombe, the health of the people could not be equated to any amount spent to ensure wellbeing.
Addressing newsmen shortly after commissioning the last isolation centre in Kwadon, Yamaltu-Deba Local Government Area, he assured that his administration was willing to spend more to contain the pandemic as well as reposition the health sector for the benefit of the people.
The governor, said the reason for establishing the isolation and treatment facilities is to prepare the state against the outbreak of the virus.
He also disclosed that while the state is awaiting delivery of the procured Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine, the administration is engaging the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to get the necessary accreditation for the establishment of a molecular laboratory that could serve as a testing centre for as many viruses as possible in the State.
Facilities unveiled by the governor includes; a 150-bed capacity isolation center at Kwadon iInfectious Diseases Hospital, which is expected to manage mild to moderate cases as well as a fully equipped 50-bed capacity facility at the Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH) Gombe.
and a 12-bed capacity intensive care unit (ICU) fully equipped for the management of severe cases at the State Specialist Hospital.