Buhari places Kano State under total lockdown for two weeks

 

BY OUR EDITOR

The President, Muhammadu Buhari, has placed immediate ban on movement in Kano State, to help the troubled state get a grip on the war against the coronavirus disease.

The north western Nigeria state had been mired in controversy over series of inexplicable deaths, even though it has only officially registered one death out of 77 confirmed cases of COVID-19 recorded in the state.

Whereas the state government had blamed complications arising from such ailments as malaria and diabetes for the cause of over 20 deaths within a space of two days, according to media report, some opposition political elements in the state claimed the deaths were from coronavirus.

“With regards to Kano, I have directed the enforcement of a total lockdown for a period of two weeks effective immediately. The Federal Government shall deploy all the necessary human, material and technical resources to support the State in controlling and containing the pandemic and preventing the risk of further spread to neighbouring States.

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“As we continue to streamline our response in the centres of Lagos and the FCT, I am gravely concerned about the unfortunate developments in Kano in recent days. Although an in-depth investigation is still ongoing, we have decided to deploy additional Federal Government manpower, material and technical resources to strengthen and support the State Government’s efforts, with immediate effect.

“In Kano, and indeed many other States that are recording new cases, preliminary findings show that such cases are mostly from interstate travel and emerging community transmission,” President Buhari announced in nationwide broadcast on Monday, as he addressed the country on the global pandemic, coronavirus.