Kano state government is making arrangements for opening Covid-19`s screening and Testing Centres in some of the Local Government Areas, outside the state capital, as part of on-going plans to widen the scope of testing for the disease in the rural areas.
The move is to ensure that people residing in rural communities also benefit from the screening and testing for the disease, instead of limiting the testing to urban segments of the state alone, as it is currently the situation
Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who gave this hint on Friday, during a press briefing organised by the Kano State Task Force on Covid -19, said his administration wanted to move the testing for the disease beyond the state capital.
“One of the important steps we intend to take now is to open more testing centers in the 36 distant Local Government Areas of the state. This is part of our next step. We need to be proactive. We want to ensure that all the institutions are not situated in the urban areas alone.
“At the moment all the screening and testing we have in place are in the eight metropolitan Local Government Areas which is not good enough. I believe we must start planning for rural areas, so that we will not be taken unawares.” the governor stated.
Also briefing the journalists, Tijjani Hussaini, the State Coordinator (Technical), Kano COVID-19 Task Force Committee, decried the high rate of the non-compliance by some individuals suspected Covid -19 patients, who in most cases are declining to divulge information about their status.
Tijjani noted that the task force is confronted with the challenge of getting some individuals suspected to be having the virus not ready to make themselves available for testing and treatment during contact tracing.
According to him, there are suspected individuals who out rightly deny having contacts with infected persons despite information linking them to people who tested positive to the virus, or in some cases refusing to divulge information on the real health status.
In his presentation at the briefing, Sani Gwarzo, Leader of the Ministerial Technical Team on COVID-19, commended the state government for it relentless fight against COVID-19, urging other state governors to borrow a leaf from Ganduje.
The Leader of the Ministerial Technical Team also expressed appreciation to Governor Ganduje for putting in place all the required facilities to combat the disease, as well as steps being taken to ensure adequate public enlightenment, and provision of free face mask to residents.
