The Federal Government has classified Kogi State “high risk” for COVID-19 because of its failure to report tests or build COVID-19 isolation centres.
Naija News reports that the presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19, disclosed classification on Monday.
Recall that Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi has consistently rubbished the existence of the disease while calling on people not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The governor does not wear a face mask except when visiting President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking at a media briefing, the PTF incident commander, Muktar Muhammad warned Nigerians to beware of visiting the state.
He said: “We have states where data is not coming forth. If we don’t test, your data will not be analysed and if your data is not analysed, we won’t know the level of the pandemic in your state,” he said.
“Notable among the states that have not been reporting adequately include Yobe, Jigawa, Zamfara and Kebbi and, of course, Kogi that has not been reporting at all.
“States that are not testing are probably at much more higher risk than the states that are currently known as high burdened states.”
“A state that is not testing at all is an absolute high risk for Nigerians to go there because there is no testing facility and even if you fall sick, there is no isolation center and they don’t even acknowledge that the disease exists. So for that reason, we put that state at the top of high risk state,” he added.
He also listed 22 high-burdened local government areas within 13 states in the country that contributed over 95 percent of recorded COVID-19 cases.
The states and local governments he listed are:
- Nkanu West (Enugu)
- Abuja Municipal (FCT)
- Gwagwalada (FCT)
- Gombe (Gombe)
- Chikun (Kaduna)
- Kaduna North
- Kaduna South
- Nassarawa (Kano)
- Katsina (Katsina)
- Ilorin South (Kwara)
- Ilorin West (Kwara)
- Eti-Osa (Lagos)
- Ikeja (Lagos)
- Kosofe (Lagos)
- Lagos Mainland (Lagos)
- Keffi (Nasarawa)
- Lafia (Nasarawa)
- Ibadan North (Oyo)
- Jos North (Plateau,
- Jos South (Plateau)
- Port Harcourt (Rivers)
- Wamako (Sokoto)