Coronavirus: Nigeria urges state govts to be cautious in lifting restrictions on large gatherings

16 Mai 2020

Abuja, Nigeria, May  16 (Infosplusgabon) - The Nigerian Presidential Taskforce (PTF) on COVID-19 has urged state governments lifting restrictions on large congregation of people to weigh their consequences in relation to creating opportunities for more seeding of the virus, thereby negating gains already made.

The Chairman of the task force and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, who disclosed this at the daily press conference on COVID-19 on Friday in Abuja, noted that preliminary analysis has narrowed down the over 51 per cent of the total number of infected persons to nine councils across the country, all of which are densely populated.

This, according to him, indicated that a critical element of taming the pandemic is to reduce opportunities for large gathering, sustaining the ban on inter-state movement and the nationwide curfew, as well as complying with the measures prescribed, such as washing of hands as frequently as necessary, using hand sanitiser, maintenance of social distancing, and the use of face mask in public places.

He stated: “In providing leadership for the fight against this pandemic, Mr. President did encourage state governments to adapt national guidelines as suitable to their states and expects that such adaptation should be informed by empirical evidence of progress made.

“As we continue the countdown to the end of the first phase of eased lockdown approved by the President, the centrality of collaboration, especially with the citizenry, becomes very imperative. Our national response has always been guided by the science of the pandemic, as well the extent to which applied measures are helping to contain the virus without compromising basic elements of life-sustenance.

“Going forward, science and statistics shall play major roles in the decisions to be taken. Similarly, community engagement shall become a strategy of focus for the PTF.”

The SGF also lamented that present records show that the country might be experiencing more unnecessary deaths because hospitals are turning back non-COVID-19 related patients, adding: “We have also noticed a marked reduction in the delivery of non-COVID-19 related services in our hospitals.

“You will recall that the Minister of Health had on several occasions implored our health institutions not to jeopardise offering critical health services to patients who require attention. The PTF wishes to reiterate this call and request that health service providers should help relieve the burden of disease in the country by offering the required services.”

Mustapha noted that the PTF had received media reports about an extrapolated level of prevalence of COVID-19 in Kano based on the number of some foreign nationals that have been evacuated from Nigeria, saying its team of experts were still on ground in Kano and were working round the clock, alongside the teams from the state, based on scientific and statistical analysis.

He disclosed that 792.1 million Naira (about US$ 2.6 million) has been credited into the Treasury Single Account (TSA) account from various in-country sources, noting: “I particularly want to commend the sacrifice of some ordinary Nigerians typified by the donations as low as N1, which for us, comes from the purest of hearts.”

Also speaking, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, revealed that the case gender ratio remains about 70 to 30 per cent for men and women, respectively, while case fatality hovers around three per cent.

“A steady rise in these figures is what we envisage with more diligent testing, treatment, isolation and tracing. Ability and capacity to keep up and align these activities with each other will determine the course of events as time goes on.

“We implore states and partners not to relent, but to keep up with the pace, which, in some states will increase well before it begins to decrease.

“Adherence to advisory against inter-state travel and compliance with other simple measures, like use of masks and avoiding crowds, will significantly mitigate the burden,” he added.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/LMK/GABON2020

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