Three commissioners and five house of house of assembly members in Gombe State have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Commissioner of Information and Culture in the state, Ibrahim Alhassan, disclosed this to reporters on Tuesday.
He explained that the COVID-19 status of the infected persons was discovered after all 21 commissioners in Gombe and the governor’s aides took the test.
Alhassan also confirmed that the test results of one of the governor’s aides and five members of the Gombe State House of Assembly came back positive.
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 revealed 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.