Residents of Kaduna state are living in fears over possible community transmission of coronavirus as the State government yesterday said the sixth case of Covid-19 in the state, a male gateman in Mando area had no connection with the first five cases.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina Mohammed Baloni, said the man who recently returned from Lagos, had been evacuated to the state’s Infectious Diseases Centre. She said he had travelled to Kaduna in a public transport and had contacted authorities when his symptoms worsened.
“It is very difficult and complicated to trace the contacts of a patient who came from Lagos via public transport and has had some instance of local commuting since his arrival,” she said.
Our correspondent gathered from residents that despite the stringent measures put in place by the Kaduna State government, inter-state travels were still taking place especially from Lagos to Kaduna .
Ibrahim Na Yelwa, a resident of Mando told Daily Trust Sunday that many of the adult male residents of Mando were truck drivers that often travel between Kaduna and Lagos. He said, “my neighbour will also be returning today (Saturday) from Lagos.”
Ibrahima Yakubu, another resident of Mando said the news that the latest case was a residence of Mando had created fear and distrust among residence especially since the identity of the patient had not been made known and his exact location remains a mystery.
“Let me be frank with you, I have already ordered my wife not to allow anybody including neighbours into our home.
This is because no one knows the identity of the gateman or the part of Mando he is from.
Again, we don’t know the calibre of people he has interacted with since his return from Lagos,” he said.
Yakubu described as unfortunate that luxurious buses were still operating discretely from Mando to Lagos likewise from Lagos to Kaduna despite the lockdown.
Despite recording six cases of coronavirus and the latest fear of community transmission residents continue to violate the curfew as inter-state travels between Lagos and Kaduna continue discreetly.
However, our correspondent gathered that even as the news spread through Mando area of Kaduna, residents went about their daily activities without taking extra precaution.
However, Dr Sa’id Zakari, a member of the Subcommittee on Risk and Communication under the State Task Force on COVID-19 said all that government now needed to do was to institute a sense of conscience on individuals to make them see reason why they should take the issue of COVID-19 very seriously.
Dr. Zakari described as unfortunate that people continue to violate the restriction order despite all the measures taken to control people passing through Kaduna such as screening, adding that “It is only when the people see reason why they need to practice these preventive measures that we will all be protected”.
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