The Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) has explained why the isolation centre it donated to Kano State is still empty as captured in a viral video.
The Chief Executive Officer of the coalition, Zouera Yousoufou, in a statement on Wednesday, explained that given the Infection Prevention and Control Protocols required with advice from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Kano State Ministry of Health, the isolation center in question had to be redesigned in order to effectively serve the purpose for which it was established.
“Based on the advice that more centres should be set up using some of the 500 beds initially procured for the Kofar Mata centre, the centre was redesigned to occupy 213 beds and the rest of the beds were distributed to other three newly established centres within the state,” she stated.
READ: Dangote-promised isolation centre yet to take off as Kano COVID-19 cases hit 900
The statement also revealed that CACOVID had provided all the needed equipment, including respirators, lab equipment, oxygen equipment, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other consumables for the facility that are presently warehoused in the Kano State Ministry of Health stores and other locations pending the completion of the construction work.
According to the statement, the ongoing redesign project of the Kofar Mata isolation centre includes; the introduction of donning and doffing areas at the entrance and exit point of each tent to demarcate red and green zones for staff movements as well as the introduction of a dedicated testing area away from the staff areas and the wards in order to test potential cases among other vital provisions.
READ: COVID-19: CACOVID hands over remodeled isolation center to Kano
It added that the heavy and complex redesign had taken longer than the management expected due to the various lockdowns and related slower pace of work.
She added that the new expected handover date of the centre will be duly communicated as work was still in progress at the site.
The statement further described the viral video as a sheer mischief aimed at scuttling the fight against the spread of the virus in the state.
Daily Trust reports that the said video emerged on Instagram, with the recorder apparently walking through the empty isolation centre under construction, and questioning the location of Kano’s COVID-19 patients.
The exact date it was taken is unknown but the recorder mentioned May 24.
Those who viewed the video were quick to point out Kano has nine other isolation centres.
