COVID 19 Upsurge: Nasarawa State Raises Red Flag
…Records 600 cases in four weeks
BY AHMED TUKUR, LAFIA – Fear of the unknown has gripped Nasarawa state over the alarming rate of confirmed cases of Covid-19 that has shot beyond over hundred percent increase from the first wave of the pandemic.
The State Director of Public Health, Dr. Ibrahim Alhassan Adamu, who confirmed the upsurge in the state, said that over 600 cases were confirmed in four weeks of the second wave.
Forefront had earlier reported how both the government and public places are flouting the COVID 19 protocol in the state.
Dr. Adamu said that as at Wednesday, the state had a total number of 1142 confirmed cases and stands in position 17 in the country.
In his words; “In fact, we have never had it as badly as this second wave in terms of the number of cases that are coming up.
“We have over 600 within this second wave because at the end of the first wave we had little above 400 cases”.
Adamu attributed the rise in the figure of confirmed cases in the state to non-adherence of protocols and other measures that were observed in the first wave.
He said; “I think as a state, a lot of people are not adhering to protocol because towards the end of last year we had massive reduction in the number of cases”.
Adamu said that unlike in the past when the state recorded a maximum of 15 cases as the highest in a day, the state presently record as high as 50 cases a day.
He further said; “A lot of People have reduced the level of prevention they were embarking before, use of face mask has dropped, constant hand washing has also dropped and people are no longer respecting physical distancing’
“Before now, we used to take about 30-50 samples a day but we now take about 110 samples for test in one local government alone in a day”.
Traditional rulers are already raising alarm making calls on a daily basis to health officials to come to their aid over the high rate of deaths recorded in their communities which is not yet confirmed to be COVID-19.
Adamu said that the state through the ministry of Health is making effort to review its strategy and ensure that protocols are adhered to in every place.
Checks at Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, showed that the number of deaths have increased while the number of patients at the emergency ward is on the increase daily.
Although the deaths in the hospital are not confirmed to be COVID-19 related, it was however gathered that most of the victims die before tests are conducted on them.
