Bauchi State Governor, Bala MohammedThings are not looking good in the North right now as the current covid-19 health crisis plaguing the world and Nigeria in particular, has sent cold shivers running down the spines of Nigerians residing in the Northern part of the country.
There has been suspicion that the unprecedented wave of mass deaths reported in Kano State weren’t unrelated to the covid-19 pandemic in the country.
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje despite evidences that the reported deaths where quite unprecedented, downplayed the issues saying such deaths weren’t ‘unusual’.
But a report by the Presidential Technical Team deployed to Kano to support the state committee in upscaling its response to COVID-19, on Sunday, confirmed claims by former Governor of Kano State, Musa Kwankwaso, alleging in a letter to president Muhammadu Buhari that COVID-19 is the actual cause of mass deaths in the State as observed recently.
Leader of the team, Dr Nasiru Sani Gwarzo, made the disclosure in an interview with journalists in Kano during the official presentation and handing over of the mobile testing laboratory donated by Aliko Dangote Foundation to the state government, that covid-19 is responsible for spike in recent deaths especially with respect to the elderly.
According to Gwarzo: “With the preliminary report, most of the deaths recorded of recent and test carried out indicated that coronavirus is the cause.
“Hence, before the final report which would be ready in the next one week or few days, it is necessary for people of the state to wake up from their slumber that this is a serious issue at hand.”
Like Kano State, Jigawa state has also witnessed unusual spike in death rates as over a hundred people are reported to have died within ten days in Hadejia Local Government Area of the state.
The Jigawa state government under Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, established a five-person committee chaired by the Commissioner of Health, Dr Abba Zakari, who is also the State Chairman COVID 19 Taskforce, to investigate the deaths and advise the authorities as appropriate.
In a more latest development, a report by Sahara claims over 100 people are said to have died in Azare, Bauchi State, over the last one week with covid-19 said to be the likely cause.
According to Sahara, the latest development was disclosed in a letter of appeal for urgent action to President Muhammadu Buhari by Ibrahim Mohammed Baba, who was avformer lawmaker representing Katagum Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives.
Baba said the deaths caused by COVID-19 had thrown the town into great mourning, panic and confusion.
The former lawmaker said the centrality and proximity of Azare to Bauchi, Kano and some major cities in Jigawa State exposed people of the town to the virus.
He said, “Your Excellency, I write to draw your kind attention to the massive outbreak of Coronavirus in Azare town and environs in Bauchi State, which has already resulted in over 100 fatalities in the last one week and this has thrown the entire area into great mourning, panic and confusion.
“The centrality and proximity of Azare to Bauchi, Kano and some major cities of Jigawa State make the town’s large population susceptible to the virus due to the already existing large cases of the disease in those areas.
“Consequently therefore, I wish to appeal to your Excellency to direct the Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control and the Presidential Task force on COVID-19 to urgently reach out to Azare town with all the necessary facilities and palliatives to assist the communities there.
“And to help in this expected effort, may I draw your attention to the fact that at the Opthamology unit and laboratory have already been built and equipped by the Central Bank of Nigeria at the Azare Federal Medical Centre since 2013 but have not been commissioned and put to use up till now. This facility can be repurposed to a COVID-19 test and treatment centre provided the right equipments are added, including ventilators.
“As a matter of life and death, I have the utmost trust in your sense of patriotism and commitment to the well-being of Nigerians that you will assist the beleaguered people of Azare town and environs to overcome this harrowing situation.”
Meanwhile, another record daily covid-19 cases was reported yesterday, May 8th, 2020.
386 new cases of #COVID19;
176-Lagos
65-Kano
31-Katsina
20-FCT
17-Borno
15-Bauchi
14-Nasarawa
13-Ogun
10-Plateau
4-Oyo
4-Sokoto
4-Rivers
3-Kaduna
2-Edo
2-Ebonyi
2-Ondo
1-Enugu
1-Imo
1-Gombe
1-Osun
3912 cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria
Discharged: 679
Deaths: 117 pic.twitter.com/IUWL9ROjqQ
— NCDC (@NCDCgov) May 8, 2020