COVID-19 Update: FG Says It’s Not Yet Uhuru As Cases Reach 6,175, Fatalities Now 191
- Mulls stricter rules enforcement
- Lockdown review ongoing
BY VICTOR OSOWOCHI, ABUJA – Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, says it is not Uhuru for the nation’s economy to open full blast for business.
According to him, the modest progress made in battling the pandemic notwithstanding, opening the economy fully is not currently on the table for government because of the huge implications and health risks.
This is as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed late on Monday night that COVID-19 cases in the country has risen to 6,175.
Similarly, the Centre reported 216 new cases with nine new deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the number of fatalities now to 191 nationwide.
Mustapha, who spoke at the daily PTF media briefing in Abuja, however said the current partial lockdown of the country will continue because time is not ripe to relax the containment protocols against the virus.
The PTF Chairman said; “The reality is that in spite of the modest progress made, Nigeria is not yet ready for full opening of the economy and tough decisions have to be taken for the good of the greater majority. Any relaxation will only portend grave danger for our populace.
“Advisedly, the current phase of eased restriction will be maintained for another two weeks during which stricter enforcement and persuasion measures will be pursued”.
The Federal Government’s position on extending the eased lockdown is strengthened by latest COVID-19 figures captured on the NCDC official website.
The Centre’s reports indicate that so far 35,345 samples have been tested in Nigeria since the outbreak of the pandemic, adding that of the 6,175 confirmed cases in the country, 4,339 are active cases.
For now, 1644 patients have been treated and discharged from isolation centres and accredited hospitals across 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The NCDC explained that of the 216 new cases reported from 15 states of the Federation, Lagos recorded – (74) cases; Katsina – (33); Oyo – (19); Kano – (17); Edo – (13); and Zamfara – (10).
Others are: Ogun, Borno and Gombe with Eight (8) cases each; Bauchi and Kwara – Seven (7) cases each; FCT – Four (4); Kaduna and Enugu – Three (3) cases each and Rivers – Two (2)
Below are series of tweets by the NCDC
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@NCDCgov
Respect, privacy & confidentiality are some of the values we maintain as a public health institute when responding to infectious disease outbreaks
We‘re grateful to our colleagues working hard in treatment centres across the country to manage #COVID19 patients to recovery
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@NCDCgov
Respect, privacy & confidentiality are some of the values we maintain as a public health institute when responding to infectious disease outbreaks
We‘re grateful to our colleagues working hard in treatment centres across the country to manage #COVID19 patients to recovery
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Replying to @NCDCgov
“In briefing His Excellency on the public health response to #COVID19Nigeria, President @MBuhari expressed concerns over reopening of the economy.
Our focus in the coming weeks is to provide guidance for businesses to #TakeResponsibility & reopen safely”
~ @Chikwe_I
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@NCDCgov
We take our responsibility of updating Nigerians using @Twitter and other platforms very seriously
We appeal to individuals to avoid spamming our daily tweets. This affects our ability to respond quickly to valid questions and concerns #TakeResponsibility
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@NCDCgov
As part efforts to reduce the risk of health workers’ infection, the #NCDCTeam continues to conduct infection prevention & control trainings in states across Nigeria
Trainees will transfer these skills to other health workers in their facilities to ensure optimal IPC practices