The Federal Government has extended by two weeks, the current phase of eased restriction across the country to prevent the continued spread of coronavirus.
The announcement was made by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation who doubles as the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, at the national briefing held on Monday in Abuja.
The extension of the phase, the government said, was made because despite the modest achievement made in stemming the tide, the country was not yet ready for full opening of the economy.
The extension, the government said, was to enable other segments of the economy prepare adequately for compliance with the guidelines, preparatory to reopening in the coming weeks.
It warned that any further relaxation of the lockdown would portend danger for Nigerians.
The statement reads in part: “The inevitable conclusion of the PTF, is that the fight against COVID-19 is long term as the virus is not likely to go away very soon. This is further underscored by the fact that no vaccine is expected till around the end of 2021. Nigeria is not where we wish to be in terms of control, ownership, infrastructure and change of behavior. We must do more.
“Last week we hinted about the refocusing of our policy on community ownership. Going forward, we shall intensify the mobilization of individuals, especially the communities to take ownership of this fight. This will be accompanied by a corresponding development of infrastructure and other Public health measures to be undertaken in every community and at every phase of the response. These include: surveillance, case finding, testing, isolation, tracing and quarantining contacts.
“Ladies and gentlemen, 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 two weeks extension of Phase one of the eased restriction is also to enable other segments of the economy prepare adequately for compliance with the guidelines, preparatory to reopening in the coming weeks. For the PTF, we share your pains but our future is in the hands of every Nigerian and future decisions will depend greatly on our compliance.”
Mustapha said based on the recommendation of the PTF, the presdient had approved certain measures to help contain the spread of the disease.
His words: “Based on the recommendations of the PTF, Mr. President has approved the following:
“i) The measures, exemptions, advisories and scope of entities allowed to reopen under phase one of the eased locked down, shall be maintained across the federation for another two weeks effective from 12 00 midnight today (18th May, 2020 to 1st June, 2020);
“ii) intensifying efforts to “tell (communicate), trace (identify) and treat (manage)’ cases;
“iii) elevating the level of community ownership of non-pharmaceutical interventions;
“iv)Maintain the existing lockdown order in Kano for an additional two weeks;
“v) Imposition of precision lockdown in states, or in metropolitan/high-burden LGAs, that are reporting a rapidly increasing number of cases, when the need arises. This would be complemented with the provision of palliatives and continued re-evaluation of the impact of the interventions; and
“vi) Aggressive scale up of efforts to ensure that communities are informed, engaged and participating in the response with enhanced public awareness in high risk states.”
