Gombe State government has announced 42 deaths in the latest outbreak of Covid-19 from 1,449 confirmed cases between March 27, 2020 and January 6, 2021.
The announcement came as the state government sought for homemade vaccine by Nigerian scientists to tackle the second wave of the deadly virus.
Chairman of Covid-19 Management Committee and Deputy Governor, Dr. Manasah Jattau, said the state at present has 267 active cases and 1,143 have been discharged.
The deputy governor called on Nigerian scientists to develop homemade vaccine for Nigerians rather than depending on importation of vaccine from abroad.
According to him, the mortality rate in the state is 2.9 per cent, which makes it urgent that measures be put in place to make sure people are safe.
“Already, there is evidence of community transmission in the state resulting from interactions during the festive period,” he said.
The committee, therefore, banned gatherings of over 50 people and threatened to shut any public or event centres that err in complying with Covid-19 protocols.
He, however, added that the committee “shall encourage routine testing for Covid-19 by Rapid Response Teams (RRT) to be carried out”.
Pleading with the citizenry to cooperate with the health officials, Jattau announced the resolve of his committee to shut any school, markets and religious houses flouting the Covid-19 rules.
