Edozie Udeojo,Abuja
…AS USAID IN PARTNERS STATE GOVERNMENT,COMMISSIONS EMERGENCY OPERATION AND COMMUNICATION CENTRE (EOC)
The fight against the novel Coronavirus in Niger State has received a boost as an Emergency Operation and Communication Centre (EOC) has been virtually commissioned to upgrade the Public Health centre in the state.
The establishment of the EOC is in partnership with the state government and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
The virtual commissionig led by the United States Ambassador to Nigeria Mary Beth Leonard was between the State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello and the USAID representative
In his address, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello explained that the State Government recognizes the scale and complexity of COVID –19 pandemic and the need to have the state-of-the-art operational facilities aimed at fighting the deadly virus head-on.
The Governor said the rising cases of COVID-19 and the fast-moving and changing situation necessitated the establishment of the centre for the over all benefits of the citizenry.
He maintained that hitherto, a lot of resources have been mobilized to contain the spread of Coronavirus in the state, noting that even though recorded cases are on the increase, the state government will continue to develop new strategies to meet up with the evolving situation.
The Governor said, so far the state has recorded 59 cases of COVID-19, 28 fully recovered, discharged and re-united with their families.
While appreciating the USAID for the partnership in upgrading the PHEOC, the Governor assured that this will further improve his response to COVID -19 pandemic and mitigate future outbreak of diseases as well as enhance data collection for informed decision making.
He also pledged to continue to provide enabling environment for partnership that will impart meaningfully on the people of the state.