Bauchi state Governor, Bala Mohammed, has said 15 persons who tested positive for COVID-19 in the state came from ‘infection-free’ Cross River state.
As at press time, Cross River has no reported case of COVID-19.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Governor Mohammed decried the violation of the interstate travel ban which he said has led to increased cases of the disease in his state.
Mohammed said;
I do not want to have issues with anybody, but I want to tell Nigerians that they are going to be accountable to God. There is no need pretending that this thing is not there. We, as leaders, must come out and face the challenges. We in Bauchi, we are not pretending.
Some of our places of worship, especially the mosques, they are the epicentre of infections, and nobody is doing anything.
He added that;
I am pleading with the people of Bauchi, if this thing continues to happen – we are bordered by seven states, some of them are worse – in order to secure the common people of Bauchi, I might have to lock up Bauchi.
Bauchi had a major spike in its number of infections on Tuesday, recording 69 new cases, with a total of 374 confirmed cases as at press time.
Mohammed and his deputy, Baba Tela, had contracted and recovered from the disease.
While other states in the country are testing samples in hundreds, Cross State, according to the situation report of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for May 18, 2020, has only tested seven samples out of its almost four million population.
Meanwhile, neighboring states have recorded cases and are battling community transmission.
Regardless of this, the state government has repeatedly stated that measures put in place is working to make Cross River coronavirus free.
