The Katsina State Government says it has so far taken samples of 71 persons suspected to have contracted COVID-19, with five returning positive.
The state Chairman of the COVID-19 Enlightenment Committee, Alhaji Abdulkareem Sirika, made the disclosure at a press conference on Tuesday in Katsina.
He said that the samples were sent for tests by the National Centre for Disease Control. Sirika, who is also the state Commissioner of Information, Culture and Home Affairs, said that all the five positive cases were recorded in Daura LGA.
He said that the government had locked down Daura LGA to prevent spread of coronavirus to other parts.
According to him, the positive cases include the wife, two children and a domestic servant of a late medical doctor who tested positive for COVID-19.
He said that the government had been taking measures to prevent spread of the pandemic. According to him, the committee visited shopping malls and restaurants, and met with religious leaders and traditional rulers to sensitise them to the importance of adhering to preventive measures. “The virus does not discriminate; hence, the need for collaboration of all and sundry in fighting the pandemic,” he said.
Sirika said that the committee had been enlightening the state residents on the preventive measures through the mass media. The chairman urged the residents to report travellers returning from affected areas so that they would be quarantined to curb the spread of the virus.
He said that the government had already established an isolation centre at the Federal Medical Centre, Katsina, where the infected persons were receiving medical treatment.
The chairman urged Katsina residents to imbibe the habit of frequent handwashing with soap and running water. He also advised them to avoid personal contacts, shun social gatherings, and use face masks and hand sanitisers. (NAN)