FG denies Kano ‘strange’ deaths caused by COVID-19

…Says results of tests conducted on victims still being awaited

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Tuesday, dismissed the claim that the unexplained deaths in Kano was caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, disclosing that the Federal Government is still awaiting the results of the tests conducted on victims of the mysterious deaths.

The minister made the clarification when the Presidential Task Force on coronavirus headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federatio, Boss Mustapha, inter-faced with the House of Representatives on efforts to curtail the pandemic on Tuesday.

Describing the Kano situation as sad, the minister assured the House that the Federal Government is doing everything possible to find a solution to the pandemic.

Ehanire, however, dismissed assertions that the unexplained Kano deaths was as a result of COVID-19, as the presidential task force was awaiting the outcome of the tests conducted to ascertain the cause of the deaths.

As a result, he declared that the Federal Government wasn’t in a position to attribute the cause of the deaths in the state to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The minister affirmed that the statement credited to the PTF team leader in Kano was false, stating that the task force will be able to make a comprehensive and categorical statement on the Kano situation once the test results are available.

Ehanire maintained that the government has not ruled out the possibility of using local herbs to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, but insisted that the Nigeria Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development must first certify the efficacy of such local drugs.

He said the government was not ruling out the possibility of using local herbs for the treatment of COVID-19, adding that what the government was saying was that those who claim to have found cure should subject it to test by the Nigeria Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development.

He said local herbs can be categorised unto drugs that can cure the virus or those that can reduce the symptoms, adding that the body must be able to build the required antibodies to neutralise the virus.

Ehanire said “before now, it was said that Chloroquine can destroy the virus. But test are still going on in that regard. We have to test the efficacy of local drugs to see of it can kill or virus and also to find out that if in the process of killing the virus, it can affect the body. So, the Institute will carry out the required test on the local drugs find out how it”.

He warned that doing so may result to another round of national health emergency since leaving other ailment unattended to can be fatal.

The Minister also said many people who are infected with the virus may not display any symptom and may innocently be infesting others with it, explaining that this explain the need for self-isolation and staying at home.

He said those without symptom are capable of transferring the virus to other with less immunity and this is dangerous. The solution is to keep everybody in isolation.

He also dismissed fears that relaxing the lockdown may lead to increase cases of the pandemic as experienced in other country, stressing that the only way to have reduced figure of COVID- 19 is for people to strictly observed all measures put in place.

He said the PTF was in talks with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and some state governments on the possibility of producing protective gear locally, adding that as a result of global demand, protective equipment are current scarce in the global market.

The Minister lamented that some Nigerians were running away from isolation centres while others have refused to report themselves for isolation.

He disclosed that the government has already tried out the Ebola anti-retroviral drug recommended by the United States Government for the fight against the pandemic, but was silent on the outcome of such trial in Lagos.

He said most of the infections in some states of the north was as a result of people travelling to such states from Kano, adding that this explained why the restriction on traveling is necessary for now.

The Minister condemned reported cases of patients being turned back from hospitals as a result of fear of the pandemic, adding that the government was sensitising hospitals to the fact that it could be disastrous to ignore other ailments.

Responding to questions on how much has been realised from donations from individuals and corporate bodies, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential task Force, Boss Mustapha said he was not in a position to disclose such information as the PTF was not directly in-charge of the funds which he said is domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He also said the Accountant-General of the Federation opened an account in some commercial banks where donations were being paid into and would be in a better position to disclose how much has come into the account and how much of it has been utilised.

He also disclosed that the MOU signed with Health workers by the PTF was on behalf of the Federal civil servants, adding that state governments were also being encouraged to do the same thing with health workers in the states.

While saying that no country in the world was prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic, the SGF said at the moment, no country can claim to be well prepared for the post COVID-19 situation, adding that leaders across the world are still studying what will become of their economies after the COVID-19 pandemic.

He, however, said that the PTF has no direct bearing on what happens in the economy, stressing that the President has already set up a committee headed by the Minister of Finance that is looking into the post-COVID-19 economy.

He said it has gotten to a situation where people has to be personally responsible for what happens around them rather than relying on government, saying “we must take responsibility for our safety and those around us. It is not the time to wait on government. Going forward, our ways of doing things has to change.

Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajuba disclosed that AU ministers of Education are looking for alternative way of educating children in schools so that they don’t miss much as a result of the pandemic.

He said a decision has also been taken to postpone the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate examination and the National Examination Council examination.

He also said that at the moment, the Ministry has introduced online learning for school children, but lamented that only 20 percent of students are able to access such e-leaning facilities as a result of lack of the required facilities.

He said the Federal Government has asked states to adopt the e-learning programme for their students, adding that 31 states have so far adapted.

On when schools are expected to reopen, he said that will depend on reports from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama said about 4000 Nigerians have indicated interest in returning home from different parts of the world, but said the government currently lacks capacity to isolate them for the required period of 14 days.

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While saying the government can only isolate 400 of them at a time, the Minister said the first batch of returnees from the United Arab Emirate were expected in the country today (Wednesday).

He disclosed that the returnees have been asked to pay to for their ticket back home and also take care of their upkeep while in isolation.

He also disclosed that while the government was looking for a plane to bring back Nigerians in China, it was concentrating attention on areas with large population of Nigeria.

Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Chikwe Ihekwazu said there were three goals to be achieved from carrying out regular tests which include proximity, scale and future.

He said testing for scale and future explains why the centre has increased the number of testing centres from 5 to 21 with the aim of having one centre in each state of the federation.

He said while there are no confirmed cases in Kogi and Cross Rivers at the moment, the centre is encouraging states to increase the collection of sample for testing while the role of the agency is to give them the required support.

On whether the NCDC has failed, he said “history will judge us. This is not the time to trade blames. The NCDC has a staff strength of 300 and we have been working with other agencies of government and the states to do what we have been able to do so far.

He said: “This pandemic will not end next week and I know that I will be criticised for this. But we need to work together to achieve results. Neither treatment nor testing can get us out of this. We need your voices to get Nigerians to understand what is going on.”