Cases near 1,000; Buhari gets ECOWAS task

Total confirmed cases inched close to the 1,000 mark with 108 new cases reported by close of day April 23. Total confirmed cases now stand at 981.

78 of the new cases were recorded in Lagos, 14 in FCT, 5 in Ogun, 4 in Gombe, 3 Borno whiles Akwa Ibom, Kwara and Plateau recorded two, one, one respectively. Plateau becomes the latest state to be infected. Discharged tally stands at 197 with deaths at 31.

Kano state has had a two day no-case situation after a recent surge took it to number three on the national tally. Head of the presidential Task Force on Thursday disclosed that the NCDC had been instructed to coordinate necessary support for the state.

NCDC is to “send an enhanced support team, mobilize resources for contact tracing and immediately ensure that necessary steps are taken in conjunction with the state government to contain the spread of the pandemic in Kano and stop the city from becoming the next epicenter,” Boss Mustapha is quoted to have said.

Meanwhile, President Buhari has been given a regional role in the COVID-19 combat after fellow leaders across the West Africa subregion named him “Champion of the COVID-19 response.”

“At a time of global uncertainty such as this, caused by the devastating impact of the COVID-19, let me convey Nigeria’s solidarity with all the Member States as we collectively battle to defeat the pandemic,” Buhari said in a statement.

ECOWAS leaders on Thursday held a teleconference to discuss the impact of the virus on the region. Also present in the meeting was the ECOWAS commission chair and United Nations representative for West Africa and the Sahel.

Cases hit 873, governors ban inter-state travel

With 91 new cases of COVID-19 as of 11:25 pm 22nd April, Nigeria’s case count hit 873 confirmed cases. A break down of the new cases were as follows: 74 in Lagos, 5 in Katsina, 4 in Ogun.

Two each in Delta and Edo states and one each in Kwara, Oyo, FCT and Adamawa. discharged persons were 197 with deaths at 28.

Governors have settled on a ban on inter-state movement for a period of two weeks as part of efforts to control the spread of COVID-19. They arrived at the decision after a virtual meeting of their umbrella body, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) which held on Wednesday.

Ekiti Syaye governor and NGF Chairman, Kayode Fayemi, said the action had been necessitated by the increasing evidence of community transmission of the virus.

“Following an update from the NGF Secretariat on the number of COVID-19 cases in the country, members expressed serious concern over the rising spread of the virus among health workers,” read a communique issued at the end of the meeting,” the communique issued at the end of the meeting read.

“The governors resolved to work with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to ensure that health workers are adequately provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) and are constantly trained on the use of protective gears.

“In order to strengthen coordinated implementation of necessary public health recommendations across states, Governors resolved to set up COVID-19 Committees at the regional level, headed by their State Commissioners of Health.

“Regional Committees will continue to interface with the State Task Force Committees on COVID-19 already established in each state.

“The Forum also received briefing from the Governors of Lagos, Bauchi, Oyo and Ogun states who shared their experiences and lessons from the fight against COVID-19.

“Governors unanimously agreed to the implementation of an inter-state lockdown in the country over the next two weeks to mitigate spread of the virus from State to State. Only essential services will be permitted.”

25 states have so far recorded cases along with the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Some of the uninfected states include Yobe, Benue, Taraba, Bayelsa and Plateau.

April 22: El-Rufai tests negative, crisis as Kano testing halted

Kaduna State governor Nasir el Rufai was declared free from COVID-19 after two consecutive negative tests.

“I am delighted to report today, that after nearly four weeks of observing a strict medical regime, I have now received the all-clear after two consecutive negative test results,” the Kaduna governor Twitter handle disclosed.

Affairs of the state government had been in the hands of his deputy over the period he was undergoing treatment. He appeared for a video meeting recently after rumours started spreading that he had been transferred to Lagos due to complications.

In neighbouring Kano State which has in five days become the third most impacted state by way of infection, a report that the testing center had been closed due to lack of testing materials raised eyebrows in the country along with a series of mysterious deaths the government is probing.

Other reports suggested that the testing center had been contaminated and thus tests suspended.
But in a later tweet, Director General of the Kano Metropolitan Agency, Abdullahi Garba Ramat, said the laboratory was up and running and that it had been better equipped to test suspected cases.