Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger on Saturday tested negative to the Coronavirus (COVID-1).
Dr Maku Sidi, Commissioner for Health, confirmed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Bida.
“Gov. Bello was in Abuja for APC Governors’ Forum and other official engagements and had contact with those suspected to be COVID-19 positive; consequently, he submitted self for test and it came out negative.
“Since his return to the state, he has gone into self-isolation as a precautionary measure against the spread of Coronavirus.
“There is no cause for alarm; we are doing everything humanly possible to deal with the situation at hand as a normal precautionary measure.
“We in Niger are not taking things for granted; every citizen must engage in personal hygiene and take actions that can help us to overcome this health challenge once and for all,” he said.
He said that movements into, and outside, the state had been banned in the effort to prevent the entrance and spread of the dreaded Coronavirus.
The commissioner explained that the state government had generally imposed a curfew to force people to comply to the non-movement order.
He urged people to support government efforts to protect Niger residents from being infected by the pandemic.
Sidi urged residents not to panic over the development, but to adhere strictly to health advice, especially social distancing and the constant washing of both hands with soap and running water. (NAN)
