The Kaduna State Government on Thursday said it will henceforth hold community leaders accountable for any violation of the quarantine order by the people of their communities.
The Deputy Governor of the State, Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, stated in a state broadcast that; “Henceforth, the community structures, from the Ward Head, Village Head and District Head, will be held accountable for violations of the quarantine order by people within their domains.”
Dr. Balarabe also said the government may invite the military to complement the efforts of the police in enforcing the quarantine order across the state and dismissed any anticipation that the lockdown imposed on the state in the last two weeks will be lifted anytime soon.
She said there had been several appeals for the state government to relax the lockdown, especially to allow for Muslim and Christian faithful observe the Jumma’at prayers and Church services respectively.
She stressed that going back on the lockdown at this point will make the state loose all the gains that have been recorded.
The deputy governor said the risk assessment conducted by medical experts paints a very gloomy and painful picture for the state.
She added that the state will be faced with the worst case scenario and we will have to deal with new cases exceeding 50,000 should the state waver on its lockdown measures.
“Predictions from the assessment show that if the lockdown is faithfully implemented and people observe preventive measures handed down by healthcare professionals, Kaduna State will have fewer new cases of COVID-19.
“However, if we waver, the State will be faced with the worst case scenario and we will have to deal with new cases exceeding 50,000. I am certain no one will want that to happen,” she said.
Dr. Balarabe explained that its collaborative effort with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) has started yielding fruits as DICON has produced an array of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) which has been sent to the Ministry of Health for quality assurance adding that the corporation promised to produce the equipment en mass, if the samples meet the specified quality.
