Francis Sardauna in Katsina
No fewer than 14 health workers have tested positive for the COVID-19 pandemic while treating patients in Katsina State.
The state Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, who disclosed this yesterday while briefing journalists, said 10 of the infected medical personnel were from the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Katsina, while four were from a private hospital in the state.
He said the 14 infected health personnel were doctors and nurses who treated patients who came to their hospitals with normal symptoms that later tuned out to be COVID-19 pandemic.
The governor announced that the state had recorded 37 new confirmed cases of the deadly disease, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 75.
Masari reaffirmed that out of the 37 newly confirmed cases, 22 were from Katsina Local Government Area and one from Daura LGA.
He said: “Based on the samples that were taken on April 2 and 4, 2020, we have a total of 37 confirmed new cases. So far, we have 75 positive cases, out of them, six has been discharged from the isolation centres.
“From the 37 new cases that were recorded, 14 are medical staff-doctors, nurses and auxiliary staff-but these are not medical personnel working directly with the COVID-19 patients.
“These were doctors and nurses who treated patients who came with the normal symptoms that later tuned out to be COVID-19. Ten of them are in FMC and four in a private hospital.
“The remaining 23 out of the 37, except one from Daura (22) are in Katsina. We still have over 80 samples that we have taken from Daura yesterday (Sunday).”
He called on the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to as a matter of urgency, established a testing centre in Katsina State to ensure speedy testing of suspected persons in order to combat the spread of the virus.
Masari, who expressed displeasure over the inability of residents to adhere to the lockdown order imposed by the government, said henceforth, government would deal decisively with anyone found culpable.
