The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha had disclosed that Kano State lacked adequate manpower for contact tracing and surveillance in the state.
He said this on Tuesday at the House of Representatives while briefing the parliamentarians on the latest about the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
Mustapha led other members of the task force to brief the house. Other members present were the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire; Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.
The PTF Chairman and SGF also stated that Kano is now the epicenter in the northern part of the country.
According to him, “A key weakness of the Kano COVID-19 response is the lack of adequate manpower for surveillance and contact tracing. The PTF has mobilized resources from across the health sector, including multi-laterals, bilaterals, the MDAs, and the private sector, to push through an accelerated expansion of the rapid response team from 21 to 50.”
“Working with partners, we are establishing at least one sample collection center and two facilitators per local government area. In addition to a seven-day motorized campaign across major urban areas in Kano. We have mobilized about 3,300 informants through the WHO (World Health Organisation)/polio programme for house-to-house search and reporting of suspected cases.
“The Federal government will in due course announce significant additional material and technical resources to complement the state government’s efforts in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in Kano.”
