Plateau government says two of its health workers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID- 19).
Dr Nimkong Lar, the State’s Commissioner of Health, made
the disclosure on Wednesday at Government House, Jos, after an emergency
Executive Council meeting.
Lar, represented by
the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Martin Azzuwut, said the health
workers were among the 15 new cases confirmed on Tuesday by the Nigeria Centre
for Disease Control (NCDC).
He explained that the new cases had increased the total
number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state to 50.
The commissioner said that four patients were discharged
on Tuesday, bringing the total number of patients discharged so far in the
state to 15, while 35 were still receiving treatment in isolation centres.
“Of the 15 confirmed cases, 11 are linked to the case of
the first COVID-19 dead patient in the state, and two are health workers.
“We currently have 11 patients in Plateau specialist
Hospital, nine in Jos University Teaching Hospital, four were discharged
yesterday and the 15 confirmed cases of yesterday are being moved to isolation
centres for treatment,” he said.
Lar said that Plateau Specialist Hospital, Jos, had
declared their capacity to conduct COVID-19 tests but were waiting to be assessed
by NCDC before they start.
He explained that the approval would reduce the turnaround
time for results from the National Veterinary Research Institute owing to the
volume of samples they receive daily for testing.
The commissioner said that the state was currently
training two health workers from each from the over 1,000 primary health
centres across the state.
He added that volunteers would also be trained to assist
in community engagement in order to curtail the spread of the disease in
communities.
Also, the Commissioner of Information, Mr Dan Manjang,
said that the state executive council gave approval to engage a consultant to
boost the Internally Generated Revenue(IGR) in the state from its current N600
million to N3 billion monthly.
He said council also approved the payment of N127 million
to a company, for bulk purchase of water purification chemicals contracted
since 2016 in the state
Manjang said the state government had constituted a Post
COVID-19 economic committee to proffer strategies on economic recovery after
the pandemic.
He said that a committee had also been established for the
implementation of mobile laboratory to test for COVID -19 in rural areas.
