Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Kano State Governor Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has approved a 12-hour free movement window per week for Kano residents to restock during the State’s lockdown.
Governor Ganduje, who disclosed this during a press briefing organised by Kano State Task Force on COVID-19, said residents are free to move about between 10 am to 4 pm every Monday and Thursday.
He explained that the decision was informed by the need to allow residents to purchase food and other essential items.
He added that some designated neighbourhood supermarkets will be allowed to open within the period so that people can buy the necessary items for domestic use.
Ganduje, however, warned the people of Kano to strictly observe COVID-19 protocols during their transactions, emphasising that the use of face masks is absolutely necessary for public outings.
He also warned the traders in the state to desist from hiking the prices of their commodities, revealing that already the state government had drafted its anti-corruption agencies, which will monitor, arrest and prosecute traders who hike prices.
Ganduje acknowledged that from test results that have been made public, there is a massive increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kano, cautioning the residents to take the protocol very seriously.
He added that with the help of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) test centre at AKTH had become operational, “although we are still taking samples to Abuja because of the low capacity of the NCDC test centre.”
He assured that Alhaji Aliko Dangote had promised to set up a mobile test centre which has the capacity of testing 400 people per day, adding that with time the mobile test centre will test up to 1,000 people per day.