Nigerian Government has said said it is not surprised with the high number of coronavirus cases being recorded in Kano State.
The government, through the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, also revealed that the COVID-19 test laboratory centre at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), in Kano has now been reopened.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, had said that the laboratory suspended operations due to shortage of reagents.
The Director-General of NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu, spoke at the Presidential Task Force daily press briefing on Monday.
He said a national response team made up of 16 people had been deployed to the state, assuring that the state will continue to receive the support of the Federal Government.
Recall that residents of Kano had expressed fears over the strange ailment killing many people, including prominent indigenes, in the city almost on a daily basis.
The NCDC boss said, “I will like to remind everyone that during a pandemic, the risk of spread is to those areas where the population density is the highest.
“We are all aware of the population density in Kano; so Kano has always been very high on our radar.
“The high number of cases that we are now seeing in Kano is really not a surprise and we are very concerned about this and we are doing everything we can.
“Despite our strong commitment to quickly control the spread of the coronavirus, there is no magic bullet; if anyone has one I will be happy to get it.
“But as much as there has been this conversation, our role is to continue to work very hard on behalf of everyone, for the people of Kano and the people of state in the country.
“So what exactly are we doing? Firstly, is to mention that Kano has been one of the states we have had strongest relationship with at NCDC. There is no single state I have visited more often since I became the NCDC DG in 2016 than Kano.
“Just last week, I visited Kano and met with the governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje and we had very fruitful discussion.
“We did everything possible to activate the Kano lab, but sometimes speed also has consequences. So we had to pause and shut the lab for the safety of workers at the lab.
“The Kano lab will go functional today. Everybody is working hard to get the lab working.
“We remain focused on our targets, which is to increase testing across the country.
“We are also working hard to investigate the causes of the deaths in Kano.
“This is a time for leadership, solidarity and not the time to point fingers. We understand it is a marathon and not a sprint,” Ihekweazu said.
