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(Abuja)
A ministerial team of experts would soon be dispatched to Kogi on a mission to engage authorities of the kogi state government, to determine material and technical needs of the state on COVID-19.
Dr Osagie Ehanire,Minister of Health, made the disclosure in Abuja at a news conference by the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 on Thursday.
Duaglobalnews recalls that the the planned visit of the experts is sequel to the failed attempt by officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to carry out similar assignment in the state about two weeks ago.
The officials, the online publication gathered, could not achieve their mission because they allegedly refused to observe protocols before commencing their work.
The Governor of the state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello was said to have told them to observe self isolation, in line with protocols concerning containing the pandemic virus before they could carry out their assignment.
This executive directive did not go down well with the officials and they left the state unfulfilled.
The minister said the committee would need to re-engage the governor and work with him and his team, to create conditions with which the NCDC officials could complete their job.
According to him, the ministry has developed key performance indicators to track surveillance, strategic activities and programme.
He also said that the ministry would be working with states to establish protocols for the improvement on communication and reporting issues concerning the disease.
Ehanire noted that the fact-finding team sent to Cross River had returned, while the ministry had been able to identify areas of need in the state, adding that Cross River’s level of preparedness was reasonable.
“They have set up a committee on COVID-19 and have also started making face masks and Personal Protective Equipment,”he noted.
Meanwhile, kogi state has not recorded any case of Coronavirus, as at May 21 when this report was filed.
Coronavirus a novel virus declared pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as pandemic.
It was discovered in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and has spread to over 200 countries with over 3 million cases globally out of which Nigeria has more 6,000 cases.
