Tension in Gombe as COVID-19 cases rises steadily

Gombe State in the Northeast Nigeria is currently on the rise in COVID-19 cases thereby causing unease among the residents.

The State by State Chart released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) late Friday showed Gombe State taking the fourth position on the table right behind Lagos, Kano and Abuja.

The lethal virus was first recorded in the state on April 20 but the state has consistently been recording new cases daily, according to NCDC updates.

In about 10 days, Gombe’s COVID-19 infections had risen above those of Ogun and Borno States which had recorded cases of the virus before it.

As of May 1, the number of infections in the state was 92 with zero recovery and zero attendant death.

NCDC National Reference Laboratory, for coronavirus testing, Governor Yahaya Inuwa in a bid to curb the spread of the virus had taken a number of measures including ban on gatherings and congregational worships, repatriation of Almajiris to home states, imposition of curfew, mandatory use of face masks by residents in public places, amongst others.

Announcing on Friday night, the NCDC said Gombe reported 16 new COVID-19 cases while 238 new infections were confirmed in the country.

“238 new cases of COVID-19; 92 – Kano, 36 – FCT, 30 – Lagos, 16 – Gombe, 10 – Bauchi, 8 – Delta, 6 – Oyo, 5 – Zamfara, 5 – Sokoto, 4 – Ondo, 4 – Nasarawa, 3 – Kwara, 3 – Edo, 3 – Ekiti, 3 – Borno, 3 – Yobe, 2 – Adamawa, 1 – Niger, 1 – Imo, 1 – Ebonyi, 1 – Rivers, 1 – Enugu,” the Centre tweeted.

It stated that with the newly announced cases, the total number of infections in the country rose to 2170 while 351 total recoveries and 68 total fatalities have been reported.