Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, says it costs about N400,000 to treat a COVID-19 patient in the state.
Speaking on Monday during an executive committee meeting with northern traditional rulers admonished them not to relent in spearheading the campaigns to avoid the spread of coronavirus pandemic in the region, stressing that the cost of treating COVID-19 patients is very expensive.
The governor who made the call on Monday at the executive committee meeting of the traditional rulers chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, noted that it costs about N400,000 to treat one COVID-19 patient.
While noting that traditional rulers have critical roles to play in ensuring that people at the grassroots adhere to government’s directives as part of measures to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus and other diseases, El-Rufai told the customary leader that treating the infected is digging a big hole in the government’s coffers.
“We have a very high success rate in treating COVID-19 patients. Even a 90-year-old person, with underlying conditions, diabetes and hypertension was treated successfully in the state,” el-Rufai said.
“The virus has not left us. We may ignore it, but it is still there. We urge you to sensitise our people to protect themselves against this virus, particularly those that are above the age of 60.
“It costs about N400,000 to treat one coronavirus patient. They have to be isolated and fed. The cost of medicine has increased, even the personal protective equipment that the doctors treating them have to wear. When you add all this up, the average cost of treatment is over N400,000 per person. We have to bear the cost.”
He, however, said that the challenges in the treatment of the pandemic make it imperative that people desist from activities that will promote the spread of the virus in the northern region and the country at large.
Traditional rulers from the nineteen northern States met in Kaduna on Monday to discuss the security and socio-economic challenges confronting the region particularly in the southern part of the state.
In his remarks, the Sultan of Sokoto while describing the killings in Southern Kaduna as total madness, said the time has come for all stakeholders including government and traditional rulers to rise up and find solutions to the lingering crises.