The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had partnered with the Niger government to establish an Emergency Operation and Communication Centre (EOC), to fight the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the centre was virtually launched on Tuesday in Minna by Ambassador Mary Leonard, United States Ambassador to Nigeria, to upgrade and boost the public health centres in the state.
Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger said that the state government recognised the scale and complexity of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that the centre was a state of the art operational facility.
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He noted that the rising cases of the disease and its fast-moving and changing situation necessitated the establishment of the centre for the overall benefits of people of the state.
The governor said that the government had spent a lot of resources to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the state.
He stated that with the increasing cases of the disease, the state government would continue to develop new strategies to meet up with the evolving situation.
Bello disclosed that so far, the state had recorded 59 cases of COVID-19; with 28 recovered, discharged and united with their families.
He commended USAID for the partnership and for upgrading the EOC.
The governor said that the centre would improve the response to COVID-19 cases and mitigate the further outbreak.
He said it would also enhance data collection for informed decision-making.
Bello pledged to continue to provide an enabling environment for the partnership that would impact meaningfully on the lives of people of the state.