Coronavirus: Borno bans visitation to IDP camps

The Borno state government imposed a four-week ban on visitors to all Internally Displaced Persons Camp (IDPs) camps in the state as parts of decision to prevent and secure the IDPs.

It would be recalled that Governor Zulum had last week appointed the state’s deputy governor, Umar Kadafur, to chair a high powered multi-stakeholder response team which had all agencies of the United Nations led by the, religious affairs and agencies involved with humanitarian affairs.

The Chairperson of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Hajiya Yabawa Kolo who announced the ban during a meeting with 51 camp managers on Monday in Maiduguri, said the state took the decision as one of the strategies to prevent the importation of the virus at the camps into the state, adding that the measure became necessary as some of the neighbouring countries like Chad Republic and Cameroon has recorded suspected cases.

The SEMA chairperson directed all camp managers from Gamboru-Ngala, Damasak, Kalabalge, Banki, Bama and Monguno not to accept IDPs from any neighbouring country into their camps

She said the decision became necessary despite closure of the borders by the neighbouring countries, there was still influx of IDPs into the state.

“We know we have a lot of threat around us following sighting of suspected cases of the virus in Cameroon and Chad and we have some border towns very close to those countries.” Kolo said.

Mrs Kolo further said “we  do not want to go to the issue of response because even in developed countries, it was difficult for them to contain this pandemic. So at our own level, we are positioning ourselves to see how best we can stop the virus from transmitting in the state”

The Governor, who recently returned from an official trip to Lagos, met Mohammed Atiku Abubakar in the Aero Contractors aircraft where they shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

A press release signed by the SSA Media to the Governor, Muktar Gidado indicated that the governor did not exhibit any symptom of the disease, but based on the recommendation of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, he will remain in isolation in order to avoid the risk of spreading the virus.

Muktar Gidado said the blood sample of the governor has been taken for clinical test, said for the period of the test, the governor and his entourage will remain in isolation pending the outcome of the clinical result.