Gombe State government confirms governor’s aides, five members of the State House of Assembly and Commissioners have tested positive for coronavirus.

The Commissioner for Information and Culture in the state, Ibrahim Alhassan, disclosed this to reporters on Tuesday.

He stated that the COVID-19 status of the infected persons was discovered after all 21 commissioners in the State and the governor’s aides were tested.

He said, “We conducted massive tests for all the government functionaries – the commissioners, special advisers, and all the staff of the Government House.

“Out of the 21 commissioners, it is unfortunate that we are having three positive cases. Of the special advisers, we have one positive case.”

“Of the members of the State House of Assembly, we have five positive cases. This is so far, the update within the government cycle,” he added.

The commissioner decried that the pandemic was already within the community and the state has begun to witness community transmission of the disease.

He noted that the government has decided to lead by example by ensuring that 100 per cent of its workforce took the test.

“Therefore, all hands need to be on deck to see that we fight this pandemic head-on and as of today, permanent secretaries and directors in all the government ministries and agencies are now undergoing the screening (the test),” he stated.

The Chairman of the Task Force on COVID-19 in the state, Professor Idris Muhammad, also gave an update on the outbreak of the disease in Gombe.

He noted that the government has tested 609 persons in four days and the results of 63 persons returned positive.

Professor Muhammad also confirmed that the infected members of the executive and legislative arms of government in the state were among the positive cases.

He, therefore, appealed to the residents to be cooperative with the task force in its aggressive approach to curb the community transmission of the disease in the state.

The task force chairman also advised the residents, especially those on essential services to wilfully submit themselves for the test.

According to him, Gombe State has a total of 234 positive cases of COVID-19, out of which 33 patients are active with 134 others discharged, as of 2pm on Tuesday.