COVID-19: Why Lagos Is Responding Better Than Kano – Health Minister

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has attributed the poor management of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Kano State to lack of experience.

Ehanire said Lagos State has been able to effectively respond to COVID-19 because of the state’s experience with the Ebola outbreak of 2014.

The minister, who appeared on Channels TV’s ‘Sunday Politics’ on Sunday night, said the federal government was studying the case in Kano State where over 150 people were said to have died from a “strange disease”.

Ehanire said the federal ministry of health would be sending a high ranking fact finding mission to the state to determine the situation in the state.

The minister also said the Kano branch of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) which had been shut down for some time would be reopened on Monday (today).

Ehanire said it was not clear if the recent surge in deaths in the state were related to COVID-19, but said the federal government’s fact finding mission would meet with Governor Abdullahi Ganduje to diagnose the situation.

“Kano does not have experience with COVID-19 and the rate it has exploded should be of concern to all.

”It is possible to be able to contain it, if the right processes are followed and the right resources are brought in.

“The testing center should be back on stream tomorrow because a team has gone there now from NCDC and have arrived there today. They should be able to resumed screening tomorrow (Monday).

“In addition, we are going to have a second laboratory, we shall have a PCR laboratory, so we should be able to take care of the backlogs and be ready to take care of any other samples that will be brought in, from the seven or eight local government areas that are affected,” he said.

In addition to why Kano has not been able to effectively respond to the Coronavirus pandemic as seen in Lagos, Ehanire said Lagos had a mechanism that was well oiled compared to Kano.

The minister added that Kano “definitely” did not have the kind of resources at the disposal of the Lagos State government.

Meanwhile, as of Monday, April 27, Nigeria has confirmed a total of 1,273 cases of COVID-19, with Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory and Kano State leading in the number of infections.