Panic In Bauchi As Over 100 People Die Of COVID-19 Within One Week

In Azare, Bauchi State, over 100 people are said to have died in the last week due to complications from Coronavirus.

Azare is the state’s second-largest city after the state capital, Bauchi.

In a letter of appeal for immediate action to President Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Mohammed Baba, former legislator representing Katagum Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, made that clear.

Baba said the COVID-19 deaths had thrown the town into great mourning, fear and chaos.

The former legislator said Azare’s centrality and proximity to Bauchi, Kano, and some major cities in Jigawa State had exposed the city’s citizens to the virus.

He said, “Your Excellency, I write to draw your kind attention to the massive outbreak of Coronavirus in the town of Azare and the surrounding area of Bauchi State, which has already resulted in over 100 deaths in the last week, causing great mourning, panic and confusion throughout the area.

“Azare’s centrality and proximity to Bauchi, Kano and some major cities in the state of Jigawa make the city’s large population vulnerable to the virus because of the large cases of the disease in those areas that already exist.

“Therefore, I will appeal to Your Excellency to direct the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to reach out urgently to Azarea City with all the facilities and palliatives required to assist the communities there.

“And in order to assist in this planned initiative, may I draw your attention to the fact that the Central Bank of Nigeria has been building and equipping the Opthamology Unit and Laboratory at the Azare Federal Medical Center since 2013 but has not been installed and used up to now. This facility can be repurposed to a COVID-19 test and treatment center given that the right equipment is available.

“As a matter of life and death, I have the utmost faith in your sense of patriotism and commitment to the well-being of Nigerians that you can help the beleaguered people of the Azarean city and its surroundings resolve this appalling circumstance.”