Kaduna state has strengthened the capacity of its health system to help prevent, detect and manage diseases, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and it now has five testing labs in public health facilities.
A statement signed by Dr Amina Mohammed Baloni, the Commissioner of Health on Sunday, marking the one year of the index case in the state, said t the state has also run a major public health campaign to encourage safe and preventive behaviour to combat the pandemic.
The statement also that as at last Saturday, ‘’8,902 residents of Kaduna State have been infected with Covid-19, with 8,762 successfully treated and discharged while 62 patients are still on admission. Sadly, we have lost 65 persons to the virus.‘’
Dr Baloni noted that Kaduna state has invested in its entire health infrastructure, adding that ‘’treatment and isolation centers have increased from one to six across the state.’’
Giving a breakdown, she said that Kaduna and Zaria towns have two centres each while Kafanchan and Birnin Gwari towns have a centre each.
According to the commissioner, the newly built 136-bed treatment facility in Mando is the centerpiece of this enhanced resilience to contain the spread of the disease and manage patients.
‘’Kaduna State received about 180,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and launched its vaccination campaign on 10th March 2021, starting with strategic leaders and frontline health workers. The state has vaccinated 65,983 persons, as at 27th March 2021,’’ she added.
Dr Baloni counseled that ‘’vaccines hold the real promise of protecting people from the virus. But the arrival of vaccines does not mean the departure of Covid-19. People must continue to observe preventive measures like mask-wearing and physical distancing until enough persons within the population have been vaccinated to trigger herd immunity.’
‘’We pay tribute to the sacrifices health workers and citizens have made through the months of fighting this disease. Let us make permanent features of our lives the lessons we have lent about personal hygiene throughout this emergency because prevention is the best cure for all diseases,’’ she added.
