We Have Discharged Over 800 Recovered COVID-19 Patients, Says Commissioner

Over 800 COVID-19 patients among whom are 136 health workers, have recovered in Katsina State and have been discharged.

The State Commissioner for Health, Engineer Yakubu Danja disclosed this on Saturday during a media round table discussion on COVID-19 organised for journalists in the state capital.

The commissioner revealed that a total of 16,815 samples have so far been taken out for testing, of which, 845 patients tested positive while 14,659 of them tested negative and 24 persons have died.

According to Danja, the state has, however, recorded a decline in the daily spread of COVID-19 cases which he attributed to to aggressive sensitization on safety protocols.

“At times, for instance, out of each 100 samples taken to the laboratory for test, it turns out to have one, two or the highest three positive cases,” the commissioner said.

He further explained that the COVID-19 positivity rate in the state stands at 5.5 per cent adding that about 90 per cent of the recovered patients were treated at home with strict supervision by the ministry and the state teams on COVID-19.

During the round table discussion, several papers were presented on prevention, stigma and discrimination, community surveillance and reporting as well as roles of journalists in the COVID-19 response.

As lockdowns and curfews ease across the country some states have gradually begun to reopen more sectors of the economy including schools, churches and some recreational centers.

However, the Katsina State Government has directed tertiary institutions not to reopen as it awaits complete guidelines from the relevant bodies.

The decision taken according to the Special Advisor to the State Government on Higher Education, Dr. Bashir Ruwan Godiya, is in line with national and global protocols and part of measures to prevent a spike of the coronavirus not only in the institutions but the state in general.

He said the institutions will be allowed to reopen once the government receives guidelines from the National University Commission (NUC) or the Federal Ministry of Education.