The Federal Government of Nigeria has revealed its determination to be more aggressive in enforcing measures ar halting the further spread of the ravaging Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic in the country.
Making the disclosure in a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed revealed the government would ensure that social distancing, contact tracing, testing, isolation of suspected cases are well enforced in the country in the bid to stop the further spread of Coronavirus scourge in the country.
He added that the government would ensure that the messaging about the ravaging pandemic gets down to the grassroots.
While noting that the Nigerian government cannot afford to be complacent he disclosed that the government was considering the ring tougher measures to enforce compliance, thereby stopping the exportation of the disease to states that do not have it and minimizing spread.
Alhaji Mohammed said: “We are considering tougher measures to enforce compliance, stop the exportation of the disease to states that do not have it and minimize spread. Possible measures include: stopping inter-state/inter-town travels, except for essential services; closing all motor parks and inter-state rail stations. Already, all train movements nationwide have been stopped and Using fire fighting and other adaptable vehicles and personnel to fumigate cities and towns.
“We will be considering and announcing new measures from time to time, but rest assured that whatever decisions we take will be in the best interest of Nigerians.”
The Minister lamented that “we are not getting the kind of cooperation that this moment deserves from Nigerians. Many are busy engaging in meaningless criticisms instead of complying with the stipulated directives to keep people safe. Some Nigerians who flew into the country from overseas filled wrong addresses and phone numbers in their forms, making it difficult to trace them when the need arises. Some Nigerians defied orders to stay away from large gatherings while some religious leaders willfully flouted the directives to ensure social distancing. The government is doing its best but we need the citizens to do their best too. We have now gone past the stage of persuasion. It’s time for strong enforcement.”
Alhaji Mohammed also disclosed that fire fighting and other adaptable vehicles and personnel would be used to fumigate cities and towns in the country.
He then gave the assurance that the President Buhari-led administration will be considering and announcing new measures from time to time, adding that whatever decisions we take will be in the interest of Nigerians.
The Information and Culture Minister then revealed the government’s plans to increase the number of bed spaces for isolation of suspects.
The Minister also announced that “We have received donated safety and test kits from the Jack Ma Foundation in China. The supplies are: 100,000 Face Masks; ,000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and 20,000 test kits.
“The face masks and the PPE will be distributed to the front-line health workers while the test kits will be shared among the five test laboratories.”
He added that “We are also taking measures to increase the number of bed spaces for isolation of suspects. The facilities we have now include the 40-bed Facility, the 60-bed Facility, and the 160-bed facility, all in Abuja, We are still looking at other facilities within the Federal Capital Territory.
“As we said during our last press conference, contact tracing is very critical to stopping the spread of the virus. Today, we have 51 cases covering 8 states: Lagos – 32; FCT – 10; Ogun – 3; Ekiti – 1; Edo – 1; Bauchi – 1; Osun – 1; Oyo – 1 and Rivers – 1.
“We have 4,370 people of interest whom we are tracing. We urge those who have had contact with suspected cases to immediately report to the authorities. We urge Nigerians to support the authorities in this regard. We are on the verge of reaching the level of community spread. We must stop this immediately or we will record exponential cases in the days ahead. There is no better way to say this.
“Let me say, without mincing words, that we are not getting the kind of cooperation that this moment deserves from Nigerians. Many are busy engaging in meaningless criticisms instead of complying with the stipulated directives to keep people safe. Some Nigerians who flew into the country from overseas filled wrong addresses and phone numbers in their forms, making it difficult to trace them when the need arises. Some Nigerians defied orders to stay away from large gatherings while some religious leaders willfully flouted the directives to ensure social distancing. The government is doing its best but we need the citizens to do their best too. We have now gone past the stage of persuasion. It’s time for strong enforcement.”
