Gombe State Government on Tuesday said it would engage the services of local hunters, vigilante and religious organisations to ensure that the state boundaries were fully secured.
Governor Inuwa Yahaya stated this in Gombe on Tuesday during a press briefing on the confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, had on Monday released the result that revealed that five persons tested positive in Gombe.
Yaya said the situation was sad and devastating despite the measures earlier taken by the state government to curtail the spread of the virus from other places into Gombe State.
“We would engage the service of local hunters and vigilantes, as well as religious organizations like a Boys Brigade and Jama’atul Nasril Islam to help security agencies in maintaining law and order.
NAN recalls that three weeks ago, the state government had imposed measures which limits religious gathering to only 50 persons, shut all areas of social gathering and sealed boundaries shared with other states.
“With the confirmed cases, business would not be as usual concerning religious and social gathering, and all other measures against the spread of the virus must be taken.
“I am meeting with the traditional leaders to adopt strategy on how to curtail the spread of the disease in our community.
“Our major concern now is community transmission, which is going to be dangerous if care is not taken,” he said.
Chairman Gombe State Taskforce on Covid-19, Prof Idris Mohammed, diclosed that out of the five cases recorded, three were on admission at the Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe, while the one from Borno state was escorted to Borno boundary and the remaining one was still being traced.
Mr Mohammed further said the five cases had become a wake-up call to the public because it may not be only five cases, but probably in multiples.
NAN reports that the Governor later went into a closed door meeting with traditional leaders with the aim of adopting strategies to fight against the spread of the pandemic.
NAN
