Almajirai are potential threats of COVID-19 transmission, says Ganduje

• Kaduna Discharges 35 Of Them After Testing Negative

Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, yesterday, said Almajirai are potential threat to community transmission of Coronavirus because of their vulnerability to communal diseases in the society.

Ganduje made the declaration at the Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital, while unveiling a training programme for 650 healthcare workers designated to manage COVID-19 infected Almajirai in the state.

The governor, who reminded that 2,000 Almajirai repatriated from other states to Kano had been isolated at three different centres in Gabasawa, Kiru and Karaye Councils for proper clinical care, added that the children have been exposed to unhealthy environment devoid of hygiene, making them a veritable chain of transmitting diseases.

“Why I said that they are the breeding ground of COVID 19 is because these children are so vulnerable and are without sanitations, good health, good food and they live in a more congested place, making them a breeding ground.

“We have categorised them into three those who are from Kano- those who came from other states, those who are just roaming about and those who could not even identify where they came from.

“Instead of playing politics with the children, our administration’s intention is to fully integrate the Almajiri system into the formal school system in the state. We would not publicise their status, like some other people did, because the children need more care than noise,” Ganduje explained.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Aminu Tsanyawa, had explained that the training for health workers and rapid response team would enable specialised expertise on managing the vulnerable at quarantine centres, adding that the trainees were selected from medical doctors, nurses, community health workers and laboratory scientists to test and screen the Almajirai at the various locations.

He added that those who tested positive for the virus would be taken into isolation centre for treatment, while those who are negative would be taken back to their homes and reunited with their parents. 

“We have over 2,000 frontline health workers in Kano. Adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) had been provided to them to protect themselves. They are also working in public facilities and at both private and secondary health institutions,” he disclosed.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Government has discharged not less than 35 of the Almajirai infected by COVID-19. Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, who disclosed this on his Twitter handle, said the state now has 47 active cases, following the treatment and discharge of the 35 Almajirai, adding 35 more patients, all of them Almajirai, have been discharged, having tested negative to the virus.

Meanwhile, the state government recently discharged 210 other Almajirai after testing negative for the disease from the quarantine centre, where they were kept for two week after they were repatriated to the state from Kano and other northern states.