Noah Ebije, Kaduna

Kaduna Governor, Nasir El Rufai, has said his administration  is deploying improved testing capacity  and other public health measures as part of strategy for safe re-opening of the state.

The governor stated this while receiving Wellness-on-Wheels, a mobile testing vehicle deployed by USAID to support the state’s COVID-19 containment efforts.

In a statement by Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye, yesterday, El Rufai said ‘’the ongoing ‘forward campaign’ of the state government which encourages personal responsibility by citizens is the most sustainable COVID-19 prevention strategy.’’

El-Rufai who expressed gratitude to USAID and KNCV for their contribution to the fight against the spread of COVID-19 disclosed that the mobile testing vehicle is already helping to improve the state’s capacity for testing in communities.

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“Kaduna State has already imported 9,800 test kits for the GeneXpert machine, the type installed in the mobile testing vehicle,” he said.

The governor further  explained that the state is seeking to acquire 40,000 more test kits to meet its target of 50,000 tests.

“The state is making efforts to further expand testing capacity by providing one GeneXpert machine in every LGA with complementary equipment such as Level 2 biosafety cabinet, sample refrigerators and reagent refrigerators,’’ he said.

The governor  said the expanded testing capacity was complementing government’s  efforts  to safely reopen the state, noting  that ‘’more businesses are opening in compliance with safety protocols, while people in the informal sector are continuing their pursuit of livelihoods.”

“This significant easing of the lockdown has made less pressing the need for palliatives for citizens that the lockdown had rendered unable to pursue livelihoods. With this development, the state government has decided that it does not require further donations by public servants, effective June 2020.”