Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, on behalf of the Federal Government on Friday explained that why the Lockdown as a measure to control the spread of the COVID-19 disease should not be relaxed.
The 14 days lockdown directives which was first issued on the 29th of March and extended on the 13th of April for by President Muhammadu Buhari in Lagos and Ogun states including FCT, had other states doing same as update revealed a daily increase and spread of the disease. Currently 26 including the FCT have confirmed cases with a national record of 1095 infected people, 208 recoveries and 32 deaths.
The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, recently at a media briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, explained why the lockdown shouldn’t be stepped down now, even if he admits the unpleasant effects it has on the economy daily activities.
“We will eventually exit this stage and restart our normal life but that stage is still a while to come and I ask for your endurance, support and patience. Lots of efforts are going on across the world to find new therapy, to find vaccine.
“Everybody is pushing hard along this direction. We need unprecedented level of caution to continue carrying out the preventive measure that we have advised many times on this platform.
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“Many families have not been able to bury their dead, rescheduled their marriages and baptism and everything they are doing. In a way, life is in suspense. Everyone recognises the sacrifice Nigerians have made but we really have to encourage one another to continue to a position where we can relax some of that (lockdown) but until we get to that place, we have to continue in the short term.
“We are working hard to reach a point where we can relax some of these measures but we are not there yet. We ask you to join us to continue this journey with us and amplify these messages that we are giving. We are happy to have the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress here with us today (Friday).”
Reminding that the elderly and sick people are vulnerable to the disease, Dr. Ihekweazu emphasised “We must protect them. In protecting them, if they are living in the village, leave them there and support them with whatever resources you have. But please, now is not the time to encourage travelling,”
