Yobe To Probe 150 Deaths In Three Towns

Yobe State Government has pledged to “investigate and ascertain” the death of over 150 people in Potiskum, Gashua and Nguru towns in the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Muhammad Gana disclosed this yesterday in a telephone interview in Damaturu.

According to him, the deaths occurred in the last seven days of fighting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the state.

“We’re dispatching experts to urgently investigate the dozens of deaths reported in Potiskum, Gashua and Nguru in the last seven days,” he said.

Government, he added, is doing everything possible to address public concern over death of 150 people in a week.

His words: “Despite the concern on the possibility of community transmission of COVID-19, there is no evidence to prove that deaths recorded recently were as a result of disease.

“We have right now sent a team of experts to the three affected towns to conduct investigation into their deaths.”

He noted that health experts would also follow trends and interview relatives of those who died, before consulting with medical experts on the ground.

Speaking on health workers’ capacity to contain the pandemic, Gana disclosed that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) had also been procured with the commencement of training health workers in the 17 councils.

“They will use them in hospitals and COVID-19 isolation centres to protect both patients and the frontline health workers.”

Meanwhile, the Gombe State House of Assembly has summoned the state’s task force on COVID-19 to appear before it today over the protests by COVID-19 patients last week.

The Speaker, Abubakar Kurba, revealed this during a press briefing on Saturday shortly after an executive emergency meeting of members in his office.

He said the meeting was aimed at proffering solution to the situation and expressed the legislators’ concern over what he described as disturbing incidents that occurred at the two isolation centres.

The speaker appealed to health workers in the isolation centres to continue with the good work of treating the COVID-19 patients.

Appealing to the patients in the isolation centres to remain calm, as everything would be addressed amicably, Kurba further called on residents in the state to remain calm while observing the preventive measures, as governments at all levels were working to tackle the pandemic.
Guardian