At least 100 people are said to have died in Azare, Bauchi State, over the last one week owing to Coronavirus complications.
Azare is the second largest town in the state after Bauchi, the state capital.
Ibrahim Mohammed Baba, former lawmaker representing Katagum Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, made this known in a letter of appeal for urgent action to President Muhammadu Buhari.
Baba said the deaths caused by COVID-19 had thrown the town into great mourning, panic and confusion.
The former lawmaker said the centrality and proximity of Azare to Bauchi, Kano and some major cities in Jigawa State exposed people of the town to the virus.
He said, “Your Excellency, I write to draw your kind attention to the massive outbreak of Coronavirus in Azare town and environs in Bauchi State, which has already resulted in over 100 fatalities in the last one week and this has thrown the entire area into great mourning, panic and confusion.
“The centrality and proximity of Azare to Bauchi, Kano and some major cities of Jigawa State make the town’s large population susceptible to the virus due to the already existing large cases of the disease in those areas.
“Consequently therefore, I wish to appeal to your Excellency to direct the Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control and the Presidential Task force on COVID-19 to urgently reach out to Azare town with all the necessary facilities and palliatives to assist the communities there.
“And to help in this expected effort, may I draw your attention to the fact that at the Opthamology unit and laboratory have already been built and equipped by the Central Bank of Nigeria at the Azare Federal Medical Centre since 2013 but have not been commissioned and put to use up till now. This facility can be repurposed to a COVID-19 test and treatment centre provided the right equipments are added, including ventilators.
“As a matter of life and death, I have the utmost trust in your sense of patriotism and commitment to the well-being of Nigerians that you will assist the beleaguered people of Azare town and environs to overcome this harrowing situation.”
Recall that Justice Dahiru Saleh, a former federal judge, known for annulling the June 12, 1993, presidential election died on Thursday in Azare.
He was said to have died of Coronavirus complications.
The NCDC on Friday announced that the number of COVID-19 cases increased to 117 in Bauchi State following the confirmation of 15 new cases.
