Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire has said about 40 health workers have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.
He made this known on Thursday while giving Coronavirus updates during the daily presidential COVID-19 task force briefing.
Dr Osagie, therefore, appealed to medical workers in the frontline of the COVID-19 fight to always protect themselves while giving treatment to infected patients.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has expressed concern over the rising cases of coronavirus in Kano State.
The chairman of the PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said this in Abuja on Wednesday at a briefing of the task force.
He said;
The situation in Kano continues to be of concern, and the PTF is working in close contact with the state government to arrest the situation. The PTF notes that the number of cases has risen generally. This is attributable to expansion of our testing capacity and activities as well as evidence that community spread is taking place
Mustapha also expressed that considering the dynamic nature of the response plan, the strategy for testing had been modified and door-to-door testing was currently taking place in some communities in Lagos and Abuja.
According to him, testing, detection, isolation, care and case management remain central to the success in the anti-COVID-19 efforts.
He thanked the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs for endorsing the recommendations of the Emergency Fatwah Committee, by issuing a statement which guides the conduct of the ummah during the coming Ramadan.
On his part, Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire reacted to complaint of shortage of test kits such as reagents by the director of the Centre for Infectious Diseases Research, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Prof. Isah Abubakar.
The Minister said;
There was a report that there was reduced availability of reagents supplied. In addition to that, there was temporary halt in activity because some of the workers in the laboratory got infected and the laboratory has been shut down for decontamination.
But with regards to supply of reagents, they have been replenished, they have the PPE and reagents and they are now working.
