Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin
Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq at the weekend said his administration will use every weapon in its arsenal to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state.
Governor Abdulrazaq added that the state would annex its resources and stamp out the pandemic.
The governor said this in Ilorin, the state capital, at a one-day training for journalists covering COVID-19 in the state.
Represented by the state health commissioner Dr Raji Razaq, the governor said his administration had spent an enormous amount of money in the purchase of ventilators and other equipment without collecting anything from the Federal Government.
He said that so far, the state has 127 samples, saying “66 had tested negative, nine positive and two discharged a few days ago. 53 samples are still being awaited from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
“COVID-19 disease needs concerted efforts across all sectors to combat.”
Leader of the NCDC in the state Dr Shuaib Belgore painted a grim and deplorable picture of the country’s health sector.
Dr Belgore added that “Nigerian hospitals do not have more than 1,000 respirators. I do not anticipate that the disease will be over in Nigerian until September this year.
“Kwara is hard hit from the beginning with the recent testing positive of five health workers. It is time to act before this thing goes crazy.
“Our people are not observing the government’s directives on stay-home-order and physical distancing.”
A member of the state Rapid Response Team and public health physician, Dr Salami Sarafadeen, revealed that viral diseases have yet to get a cure.
“Viral infections anywhere in the world do not have a cure, but they cause opportunistic infections,” he added.