The Committee on the Management of Covid-19 in Gombe State has called on the public to revive earlier protocols and restrictions observed for the containment of the disease in the state.
According to the committee, the measures have become necessary in view of the resurgence of the disease and because of the change in weather due to the harmattan, because the disease thrives more in cold.
The Gombe State Committee for the Management of Covid-19 said the measures were needed to be observed during the Local Government Council Election on Saturday, December 19, 2020, because of the increase in unexplained deaths in recent times.
Speaking with journalists in Gombe, the Deputy Governor, Dr. Maassah Daniel Jattau, who heads the committee, said all stakeholders should begin to sensitize those around them on the need to regularly wash their hands, wear face masks, maintain social distance, use of hand sanitizers and avoid crowded places.
Dr. Jattau said religious and traditional rulers, as well as schools proprietors and business owners should enlighten those around them on the resurgence of the Covid-19, not just in Gombe State, but the country as a whole.
“It is because of this that the Committee on the Management of Coviid-19 in Gombe State thought it wise to call you, members of the press to please help us communicate, not just to those resident in Gombe, but perhaps to the outside world, that there is a compelling need for us to go back to all the measures that were in place when the Covid-19 started,” the Deputy Governor said.
On his part, the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Ahmed Gana, said the virus thrives in certain conditions, describing the current weather condition as ideal for the spread of the covid-19 virus.
He said the public should take the issue of Covid-19 seriously by getting tested, so as to prevent its spread and to get the needed treatment on time.
“The issue with Covid-19 is that if you are not testing, you will not be able to track where the virus is. When we started at the beginning of the outbreak, we had full control of the virus, because we were checking the virus right from the point of entry into the state. So, we went through those months and fortunately, we were able to control the first wave, but then the testing crashed down, and now the virus has kind of recirculated and it’s everywhere in the community,” Dr. Gana said.
He said the committee suspected 23 cases in one of the local government areas and went on an active face search, saying “22 came back positive. And since then, we have seen a rapid rise in the numbers. From single digits to double digits. God forbid, if we don’t take adequate action now, we may go into triple digits” Dr Gana said.
Dr. Gana, therefore, appealed to members of the public to take personal responsibility by keeping with the covid-19 safety protocols and to desist from dismissing the existence of the virus, because the trend of the present wave was different from the previous one.
“It’s looking more lethal. The severity is a bit higher than the episode that we had during the hot period. You know the temperature is lower now and so the numbers of deaths are increasing,” Dr. Gana said.
Emmanuel Ukoh
