TheCable

Amina Mohammed Baloni, Kaduna commissioner for health, says the state recorded a new case of COVID-19 on Sunday.

In a statement on Monday, Baloni said the development has brought the total number of the cases in the state to five.

The commissioner said the state government has been taking “vigorous” measures to contain the spread of the disease since February.

“So far, the State has sent 89 samples to Abuja for testing, among which 5 samples were positive, 77 samples were negative, and 8 samples are pending. 119 contacts have been listed and further contact tracing is ongoing,” she said.

“The state government has been taking vigorous actions to contain the spread of COVID-19 since February, by reaching out to the Chief Medical Directors of all hospitals in the state, daily evaluation of the pandemic and devising new ways to check the spread.”

Baloni said apart from the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) that was set up, the state’s health ministry has “reactivated” the Infectious Disease Control Centre (IDCC) by posting trained health workers to the facility to care for patients.

“In addition, different sub committees have been put in place to coordinate responses to the disease which include the surveillance, Laboratory, coordination and Risk Communication teams. Likewise, training of health workers is also ongoing,” she said.

“The frontline health workers who are taking care of our patients and the various professional bodies, development partners and individuals who have reached out to support the state government’s efforts.’’

The commissioner asked traditional, community and religious leaders to continue to teach the people the importance of adhering to all the measures put in place to curb the spread of the disease.