…says no amount is too much to be spent on health, wellbeing of people

Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State has said that the health of the people cannot be equated to any amount spent to ensure their wellbeing.

Governor Inuwa Yahaya stated this while commissioning covid-19 isolation and treatment centres set up by his administration.

Answering questions from newsmen on efforts so far put in place by his administration to address the challenges of the novel Coronavirus, said his government is willing to spend more to contain the pandemic as well as reposition the health sector for the benefit of the people of the State.

The Governor said the essence of putting up the isolation and treatment facilities is to prepare the state against the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus and to save lives in case of any eventuality.

Governor Yahaya disclosed that while the state awaits the delivery of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine, his administration is engaging the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and World Health Organisation (WHO) to get necessary accreditation to establish a molecular laboratory in the state that could serve as a test centre for as many viruses as possible.

He said the decision to close schools and social centres in the State was to promote social distancing which has so far been proven as an antidote to the spread of the virus.

While answering questions on the youths recently apprehended by the rapid response team of the state taskforce on the restriction of inter state movement for coming into the State from Lagos, Governor Inuwa Yahaya said the arrest of the youths for quarantining was the proper procedure to check the possible spread of the Coronavirus, especially given the fact that the youths were coming from Lagos which is the epicenter of covid-19 in Nigeria.

The Governor thanked traditional and religious leaders for their efforts in enlightening their subjects on the Coronavirus pandemic, assuring the people that the State is ready for any eventuality.

The Chairman of the state Taskforce on covid-19, Professor Idris Mohammed described the facilities provided as state of the art and some of the best one can find for the management of covid-19 cases.

The facilities unveiled by the Governor included a 150- bed capacity isolation centre at Kwadon infectious diseases hospital, for the management of mild to moderate cases, a fully equipped 50- bed capacity facility at the Federal Teaching Hospital and a 12- bed capacity intensive care unit ( ICU) fully equipped for the management of severe cases, including mechanical ventilators, oxygen concentrations, cardiac respiratory monitors and other needed facilities.