Kano Government Clears Air On Empty COVID-19 Isolation Centre (Video)

The delay in the early completion of the Sani Abacha Stadium (SAS) Isolation Centre was necessitated by the review of the government’s initial plan.

This was the position of the Kano State Government following the release of video clip on social media which showed an empty isolation at the Sani Abacha Stadium despite claims by the Abdullahi Ganduje-led government that isolation centres across the state are occupied by COVID-19 patients.

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Reacting to the development, the state Commissioner of Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, dismissed the footage, describing it as a “mischievous attempt to misrepresent facts on the ongoing installation works at the isolation centre, donated by the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID).

It was learnt that the project, which was initiated in April, was designed with a 500-bed capacity to accommodate COVID-19 patients.

Although the clip, lasting about three and a half minutes, showed ongoing installation works at the isolation centre, a commentator alleged that the centre was not functional in spite of the hundreds of confirmed cases in the state.

Garba, however, said that the video clip was an attempt to discredit the effort by the coalition in the fight against the pandemic.

He stated:

Whoever is behind the filming does so to deliberately to distort the datum considering that even in the clip, it shows that the project is still ongoing, but calculatedly moves away from filming the exercise just to accomplish the task of garbling the fact.

The Sani Abacha Stadium Isolation Centre initially billed to accommodate 500 beds were later redesigned based on recommendation and standards set by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF) and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The Commissioner also explained that while the project was reviewed and installation works continued, 218 of the 500 beds planned for the centre were deployed to other centres.

Garba, however, reiterated the government’s commitment to ensure completion of the 213-bed capacity isolation centre at the stadium, in accordance with the recommendation of the relevant health authorities.

He also called on members of the public to disregard the video clip, stressing that government would not be distracted from serving the people of Kano State.