Kaduna State has confirmed five new cases of coronavirus. It also reported that there are Almajiris among the five new cases.

Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Mohammed-Baloni, disclosed this on Monday.

Governors in northern states agreed to ban the Almajiri system in a bid to restrict the spread of COVID-19.

The Almagiri system is a sort of education that demands that young children be sent away from their homes to Islamic scholars.

So last week, the governors accepted to send the children back to their parents or states of origin to minimise their exposure to the deadly virus.

Dr Amina said, “The new cases include almajiris who were recently repatriated from Kano.”

Baloni said in the statement that there are nine active cases in Kaduna state.

She said the patients have been moved to the Infectious Diseases Control Centre (IDCC), the state’s premier isolation centre.

“Our medical professionals are treating them with the same high standards and we wish all our nine active cases speedy recovery.

She also disclosed that the testing capacity of the state has been improved with two testing centres accredited by NCDC to conduct COVID-19 tests.

“The new cases are among almajirai who were recently repatriated from Kano.

“The contacts of the new cases are being traced so that they can be monitored and tested if they meet the case definition.

“The new patients have been moved to the Infectious Diseases Control Centre, the state’s premier isolation centre,” 

Kaduna has now recorded 20 coronavirus cases while Kano has recorded a total of 77 coronavirus cases.