COVID-19 Resurgence: Kano records 17 deaths, 827 cases in 2 months

From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

Kano state has recorded no fewer than 17 deaths between December, 2020 and January, 2021 as the country experiences a resurgence of the dreaded Corona virus disease.
Deputy Coordinator, Technical Response, Dr Sabitu Shuaibu Shanono disclosed this in a presentation of the state’s COVID-19 Epidemiology at a press briefing by the Kano State Taskforce on COVID-19, held at the government house yesterday.
Dr Shanono stated that from November, 2020 to January, 2021, the state has also recorded 827 new cases since the emergence of the second wave of the pandemic.
According to him, out of the 827 cases, 289 are still on admission and receiving treatment, adding that the state government had now recorded 17 total number of deaths since the index case that was recorded on April 11th, 2020.
The Deputy Coordinator also disclosed that the state has recorded 5,083 contact tracing, 61,997 suspected cases and 2,636 confirmed cases while 2,276 had been discharged.
He however lamented that the state is facing the challenges of poor public compliance to Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) protocols, as people in the state are not observing the safety measures properly.
“Poor cooperation by confirmed cases to self isolate themselves or even be taken to isolation facility. This is the reason why we are having community transmission of the infection in the state.
“ There was a case that infected about 19 persons due to failure to self isolate. I therefore use this opportunity to call on people to cooperate with the government in a bid to stamp out this disease in the state,” Dr Shanono appealed.
The State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, in a remark disclosed that the state government had made an arrangement to start testing people entering the state from border towns in order to check the spread of the pandemic in the state.
He also disclosed that the government has engaged the security agencies where a template had been designed for enforcement of compliance to COVID-19 protocols.
“Go back to your respective communities and enlighten your people on the dangers of the pandemic and ways to prevent and protect themselves,”
The governor also assured that health facilities in the state are fully ready for the response, adding that the state is planning to increase the number of sample collection centres for more testing, which in turn, help in discovering the infection and treating it effectively.
“We are also going to engage ulamas, academic communities, such as public, private schools, universities, colleges among others. We have also sensored our markets. We shall therefore engage them on enforcement of compliance to the protocols.
“ By this, I am sure we will be able to tackle the problem in our state,” Ganduje said