NEGATIVE RESULTS FROM CORONAVIRUS TEST IN KANO IS WORRISOME —EXPERT

The Director Centre for Infectious Diseases Research(CIDR) Bayero University Kano, Professor Isa Abubakar, has said the purported decline in the number of COVID-19 active cases in Kano state is not helpful in the fight against the virus.

He said the decline is not the true reflection of the situation.

Abubakar cautioned the decline recorded in Kano figures is not in any way a sign of relief on the spread of COVID- 19 in the state.

He spoke when the centre received a new COVID-19 testing machine donated by A.A. Rano and Aliko oil.

He alleged the State was not submitting the number of required samples for testing.

The Professor of infectious diseases expressed concerns over the decline in the number of samples being submitted to the state epidemiology team for COVID-19 tests.

Abubakar, who expressed disgust over the poor number of samples especially from Kano, insisting that the present decline in the number of active cases in the state is not a sign of relief.

He said: ” Honestly as an epidemiologist, I will be very much happy if the number of tests we are conducting is larger than what we are seeing and we are recording more negatives but for now, it is premature to celebrate at all.”

On the declining figures of infected persons in the state, Technical Coordinator, Kano COVID-19 Taskforce team, Dr Tijjani Hussani, denied the low number of samples submission for laboratory testing.

He explained that between May 24-30, total samples submitted to the three testing centres in the state was 1,018 while 70 tested positive.

‘’As I speak to you, we submit samples to centres at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Bayero University and Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital. Within 7 days that is between May 24-30, we submitted 1,018 samples and 70 of the samples came out positive,’’ he noted.

The coordinator explained initially samples submission and collection mostly take five days but with establishment of the Bayero University and Muhammadu Buhari centres to complement Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, it takes three days for results of samples to be ready.