Kogi debunks existence of COVID-19 case says will not accept fictitious claims

Kogi State government has said that its COVID-19-free status has not changed, insisting that it will not be part of any fictitious claims to the contrary.

In a statement by the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Saka Haruna, made available to journalists yesterday in Lokoja, the state government warned that any attempt to force it to announce existence of COVID-19 case will be vehemently resisted.

The clarification follows the announcement by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that the state has two confirmed cases of patients with the virus.

“We have also continued to insist that we will not be a party to any fictitious COVID-19 claims which is why we do not recognise any COVID-19 test conducted by any Kogi inhabitant outside the boundaries of the state except those initiated by us.

“We have developed full testing capacity and have conducted hundreds of tests so far which have returned negative.

“We continue to enjoin our people to take all necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic into the State and give no listening ears to rumour peddlers and mischief-makers.

“We are more than prepared to secure the lives of our people, and have no interest in playing politics with their health concerns,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, an online post has said that one of the confirmed cases is a 62-yearold Islamic cleric from Kaba Local Government Area who is hypertensive and suffers from diabetes.

“We opted to send him to Abuja to get tested since the state government has vehemently refused to test anybody. He was presented with COVID-19-like symptoms and was de-saturating.

“He is an influential personality and the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of National hospital, Abuja, was contacted immediately. He tested positive,” the post claimed.