Chidi Samuel| The Federal Government on Thursday said the country has entered the second wave of COVID-19 infections.
It warned that there was the risk of not just losing the gains from the hard work of the last nine months but also losing the lives of the citizens.
The acting Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who made the disclosure at the joint national briefing of the task force, said that events and statistics of the last two weeks within and outside Nigeria have been very mixed, with the cheering news of the COVID-19 Vaccine, on one hand, and spikes in number of infections at home and abroad on the other.
He said, “The real threat is upon humanity and the progress made in the global health sector in the last five decades or more.
“In Nigeria, the indication is that we have entered the second wave of infections and we stand the risk of not just losing the gains from the hard work of the last nine months but also not losing the precious lives of our citizens.
“The PTF believes that if we do the right things, adhere to the Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs), and step up our testing and detection, loss of lives will be minimized and the rising curve will begin to flatten out.”
“Global CFR declined to 2.2%, while the WHO Africa region’s CFR remains at 2.2 %; USA continues to record high daily case incidence of over 248,686 cases daily; and on the WHO Africa region, Nigeria ranks 5th for both highest cumulative cases and highest cumulative deaths.”
According to Sirika, the PTF last Tuesday held the end of term technical session where it assessed the progress made and the present dangers that confront the nation, with the result expected to be submitted to the President on Tuesday, 22 December, 2020.
“Current realities, however, point to the fact that the course of further opening up of the economy may have to be reviewed,” he warned.
“It is our strong advice that all non-essential trips be cancelled outrightly.
“We also urge citizens to avoid large gathering events,” he added.
NCDC confrims 1,145 new cases of #COVID19
Meanwhile, Nigeria on Thursday confirmed 1,145 new cases of the novel coronavirus bringing the country’s toll to 76,207.
The Nigeria Centre For Disease Control which made the disclosure in a statement late on Thursday night via its verified Twitter handle, said the new infections were reported in 24 states and the FCT.
According to the update, Lagos recorded 459 new cases, followed by FCT-145, Kaduna-138, Plateau-80, Katsina-70,
Gombe-52, Niger-31, Kano-23, and Bayelsa-21.
Other states with new infections include, Bauchi-18, Ondo-18,
Rivers-17, Ogun-12, Oyo-12, Edo-8, Nasarawa-8, Ebonyi-7,
Osun-6, Ekiti-5, Kebbi-5, Borno-4, Jigawa-3, Akwa Ibom-2, and Anambra-1.
The NCDC further noted that so far, 66,110 have recovered from the disease with 1,201 fatalities recorded.
Governor Simon Lalong Tests Positive For COVID-19
Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong on Thursday tested positive for coronavirus.
The Director of Press and Publicity to the governor, Dr. Makut Macham, who disclosed this in a statement, explained that the governor took the test along with members of his family while his result came out positive but that of others were negative.
Although Governor Lalong is said to be asymptomatic, he has gone into isolation while the samples of his close aides have also been collected for testing.
“As a result, the governor will henceforth work from home during the period of treatment. All state matters requiring the governor’s physical presence will be handled by the deputy governor,” the statement said.
It added, “The governor uses the opportunity to urge all citizens of Plateau State to observe all COVID-19 protocols as the pandemic is still prevalent.
“He advises citizens to apply all precautionary measures, especially during the festive period by avoiding large gatherings, using facemasks, washing hands with soap and water and adhering to personal hygiene measures.“
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