Segun Amure, The New Diplomat’s Abuja Bureau.
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19 has listed 22 councils in 13 states as high-risk areas as the country’s Covid-19 cases climb.
Speaking at its daily briefing on Covid-19, PTF National Incident Manager (NIM), Dr Mukhtar Muhammad, said the areas contributed over 95 per cent of new cases recorded in the last six weeks.
Muhammad listed the councils as Nkanu West (Enugu); Abuja Municipal (FCT); Gwagwalada (FCT); Gombe (Gombe); Chikun (Kaduna); Kaduna North; Kaduna South; Nassarawa (Kano); Katsina (Katsina); Ilorin South (Kwara); Ilorin West (Kwara); Eti-Osa (Lagos); Ikeja (Lagos); Kosofe (Lagos); Lagos Mainland (Lagos); Keffi (Nasarawa); (Lafia) Nasarawa; Ibadan North (Oyo); Jos North (Plateau); Jos South (Plateau); Port-Harcourt (Rivers); and Wamako (Sokoto).
“In addition to these, we have states where data is not coming forth. If we don’t test, your data will not be analysed and if your data is not analysed, we won’t know the level of the pandemic in your state.” Muhammad said.
He warned, “A state that is not testing at all is an absolute high risk for Nigerians to visit because there is no testing facility and even if you fall sick, there is no isolation centre and they don’t even acknowledge that the disease exists. For that reason, we put that state at the top of high-risk states.”
The PTF also declared the whole of Kogi a high-risk state for refusing to acknowledge the existence of the disease and its failure to report testing, lack of isolation centers and warned Nigerians to be wary of visiting the state.
Other states that have not been testing and reporting include Yobe, Jigawa, Zamfara, Kogi and Kebbi.
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