Kogi was at high risk of Lassa Fever before I came on board as governor and remained so until 2017 with a high mortality rate. My government took a position in controlling infection disease and met with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC. We built the nation’s best biosafety laboratory in Nigeria for the control of infectious disease, since then, we have not recorded any death from Lassa Fever in any state Government owned-hospital.
Kogi and Kwara were hit with Yellow fever recently but we came out of it with a very insignificant death rate.
Before the coming of COVID-19, Kogi State was already prepared in the control and management of infectious diseases. Our methods have been deployed since the outbreak of coronavirus in Nigeria.
We are not in any way defiant to the scourge of coronavirus Anyone who meets the requirement for testing as outlined by the World Health Organisation and NCDC would be tested immediately. Our people will continue to protect themselves along the NCDC guidelines and measures to stay safe of the coronavirus.
Nothing is altogether new under the sun. Whether the coronavirus or CoviD-19 or SARS-COV2 is natural or artificial and whether it came out of China or elsewhere by happenstance or hostile action, WE NEED AN EVOLVING SYNERGY BETWEEN SCIENCE AND COMMON SENSE, MEDICINE AND GOVERNANCE TO BEAT THIS PANDEMIC.
As leaders, the burden is on us to refuse panic and act intentionally to create a semblance of normal life for our people while taking adequate precautions to keep them as safe as possible.
Once again, I thank the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the Federal Ministry of Health, and of course the NCDC for all they have done and will continue to do until this pandemic is contained and crushed.
In particular, we thank Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for sending us a fact-finding and validation team today. They have arrived the state and we welcome them.
While the whole attention and care are about the COVID-19, let us not be blinded towards issues including Kidnapping, Terrorism, Banditry, Cattle rustling, accidents, Malaria, Lassa Fever, Meningitis, and others which are also killing our people in large number.
These are images from one of our Isolation center in Lokoja, Kogi Is More Ready in Tackling The Spread Of Coronavirus Into The State.
Kogi Is Still #COVID19 Free, 10/05/2020
~Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State
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