Northern Governors To Procure COVID-19 Mobile Test Vans For Rural Areas

The Northern Governors Forum, NGF, on Friday resolved to commence plans for the establishment of COVID-19 mobile testing vans to cover rural areas across the region.

Chairman of the Forum and Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, announce this at the end of the governors’ teleconference meeting held on Friday.

This was contained in a statement issued on Friday by Mr Lalong’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr Makut Macham.

It said that the governors also decried the inadequate number of testing centres in the region considering its population.

According to the statement, the Forum reviewed some of the issues they earlier raised such as the request for more COVID-19 Testing Centres in the North which are much inadequate.

The statement said they, therefore, decided to purchase mobile Testing Vans which they believe will facilitate testing in the rural areas.

The Forum acknowledging some improvement through the intervention of the Federal Government.

However, it said that the improvement was still a far cry, going by its population and increase in COVID-19 cases.

The Northern Governors lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for his quick intervention in Kano State to check the spike in the number of COVID-19 infections in the state.

“On the profiling and return of Almajiris to their States of origin, the governors, in the statement said that the exercise has commenced and is going on well except for some few logistic challenges, which are being addressed, between governors of originating and receiving States.’’

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The Forum, then, agreed that all Almajiris sent from one state to another should be profiled, tested and accompanied by state officials and their Alaramas (teachers) to facilitate the process of settling in.

Similarly, on inter-state border closure, the governors decried that the borders were still being compromised.

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They said that more illegal routes were being created to bypass the security operatives, such compromise, they noted is capable of proliferating the inter-state transfer of the virus.

The governors noted that some of the trucks transporting goods are also used in smuggling people across states, in violation of the movement restrictions.