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By Omeiza Ajayi – Abuja
Following its decision to ease the five-week blockade it imposed on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos state and Ogun state, the federal government has said it may be forced to proclaim another round of blockade throughout the country, saying that the majority of Nigerians who went out for business on Monday violated their containment protocols against the spread of COVID-19.
According to the federal government, more Covid-19 infections are expected to be reported across the country due to such violations.
While lamenting the low level of public compliance with its containment protocols, the federal government also said it would involve northern governors to find a way to stop their current recourse to evacuate Almajiris from one state to another, saying that such action it is counterproductive to their decision to ban interstate movement.
The government noted that around 4,000 Nigerians have expressed interest in returning to the country, saying that the evacuation process will begin on Wednesday.
Additionally, residents of the nation’s capital Abuja have criticized security agencies on the ground for causing unnecessary roadblocks within the city by closing parts of the roads for no reason.
Their complaints came about because most of the banks in the FCT were crowded and the rules of social distancing violated since only a few bank branches were open for business.
For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said it could take the next 12 to 18 months for a Covid-19 vaccine to be ready, adding that after that, such a vaccine would still take another time to be produced in mass for the public.
Health Minister Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who spoke about the likelihood of Covid-19 infections increasing, urged Nigerians to demonstrate a high level of responsibility to mitigate the spread of the virus.
He said that although Covid-19 patients have a high survival rate, many people could become ill at the same time as the entire health sector could be paralyzed.
Increased infections.
Ehanire said; “As we begin a new week and the prospects for a gradual reduction in the blockade, I want to start by reminding citizens that this phase carries the additional responsibility of being more vigilant and complying with the measures and guidelines that are intended to ensure that we do not lose the advances in health that we have made so far, as we cautiously open options for citizens to rebuild their livelihoods.
“Since our COVID-19 statistics are of great concern, attention has also been drawn to the observation that countries that eased or lifted the restrictions saw an increase in new cases.
“Although our projection already presents an increasing number of cases, even with the blockade, I believe that redoubling our efforts to adhere to government directives can keep the figures within the COVID-19 control range.”
More blocking
Also speaking, the Director General of the Nigerian Center for Disease Control NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Iheakwazu rebuked banks for opening fewer branches, an action he said would definitely drive the increase in the infection rate.
He said that with the way many Nigerians violated government security measures, authorities could be forced to impose another blockade.
Today, some of the measures are being relaxed. Initial reports are not very pleasant across the country. This is to attract everyone across the country to take responsibility.
“When we say take responsibility, yes, we are targeting people, but we really need to approach Nigeria Corporate. One of the largest groups allowed to start businesses today was banks, but many banks have limited the number of branches they opened.
“Yes, there is a benefit of the doubt, but when you limit the number of branches that open, everyone goes to the only branch that opens and that becomes counterproductive.
“There is only so much we can do. We can produce all the guidelines and do all the preaching, but if organizations are not going to come and support the implementation of these measures and help us manage risks and focus on a risk-based approach, then all of our efforts would amount to nothing.
“We will have infections because of what happened today. There is no doubt about it, but how can we learn from today’s mistakes until tomorrow, tomorrow so that, hopefully, by Friday we would have normalized some of these things?
“Yes, we knew that today would be a problem. Everyone here knew that it would be a problem today because for the first time people were left out of their homes.
“But now that they are outside and now that we have seen the sunlight again, the challenge for us as a society is how we organize ourselves to mitigate this risk, to limit the transmission between us so that, yes, we have some additional infections today and tomorrow, but what we don’t want is an explosion of new infections.
“If we have that explosion, there would be almost no other option for the country’s leadership than to ask us all to return to our homes.
“So for the benefit of having a few hours a day to reopen parts of the economy, there is a price to pay and that price is that we organize to do it safely.”
Focus on Kano
“We are concentrating a lot of energy on Kano, not because Lagos is no longer important. In fact, Lagos still has the highest number of cases and they need all the necessary support and we will continue to give them all the support.
“We have an emerging problem in Kano and therefore some of our thinking resources must now focus on Kano. Yesterday, I went back to visit Kano.
“We didn’t just activate the labs and we left, because of what happened the other time. We leave our colleagues to stay there and advise colleagues there to make sure they can do the tests.
“So the testing speed is a little bit slower than you might expect, but that’s the price we have to pay to make this work.”
Iheakwazu added that while there are currently no fewer than 41 NCDC staff members deployed to Kano, 17 officials from the World Health Organization, WHO, have also been deployed to the state.
He added that the NCDC has begun the process of establishing at least one sample collection center in each of the 44 local government areas of Kano state.
Chairman of the Presidential Task Force PTF on Covid-19 and Secretary of the Government of the SGF Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha had previously lamented the level of compliance with the PTF guidelines.
He said; “The PTF has been monitoring the level of compliance with some of the measures and the first observations showed lack of compliance with social distancing and the use of masks.
“We particularly observe the chaotic scenes around banks and other financial institutions. We must reiterate that the danger of infection is not over and that individual actions will contribute to the success or failure of our measures.
“We urge citizens to minimize the risk of infection by trying to transact at banks. We also urge banks to ensure that their ATMs and online banking systems are in good repair and are regularly stored to avoid the convergence of customers in their facilities.
“The PTF fully understands the desire of Nigerians to leave to continue their lives after five weeks of confinement. However, state governments and security agencies have been advised to apply the measures rigidly, and violators will be prosecuted.
“Let me remind you, once again, that this easing is in phases and those who are allowed to open have been clearly defined. Our warning to Nigerians is that it is still desirable to stay home if there is no compelling reason to always go out and comply with the measures, whether at home or not.
Stop the evacuation of Almajiris
“The PTF also received reports on the level of compliance with the national ban on interstate movement. The goal of the ban is to stop the spread of the virus across state lines.
“The government’s determination to enforce this policy is not in doubt and, as we move forward, we believe that proper alignment will be sought with the directives of the President.
“There has been a very notable relocation of Almajiris from one state to another, until yesterday. With the prohibition of interstate movement, the continuation of this exercise will not be aligned with the guidelines issued.
“The PTF will engage with the respective state governments on how to achieve their objectives.
“As we move through this new phase of action, it is imperative that you further reiterate the importance of adhering to the guidelines so that preliminary reports indicate that there is a high observable level of violations by citizens.”
The SGF also warned hospitals not to reject patients with other illnesses due to fears that health workers will hire Covid-19.
“The PTF also received reports of medical facilities and doctors rejecting sick patients for fear that their illnesses are related to COVID-19.
“The PTF calls on these facilities, especially public hospitals, not to neglect the treatment of other ailments because such actions have resulted in aviable deaths. The Honorable Minister of Health will be in charge of managing our tertiary health institutions to address this, ”said the SGF.
4,000 Nigerians want to return
Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, who said there are around 4,000 Nigerians abroad who want to return to the country, said that while it is not possible to evacuate all of them, the federal government will start lifting some of them on Wednesday.
He said; “Regarding the evacuation of our nationals in various countries around the world back to Nigeria, we set ourselves a goal to start today.
“We were able to establish the minimum requirements and we proposed an airline. Emirates had a flight that was canceled a couple of weeks ago because we weren’t ready to receive that flight and that was the lowest fruit we could start with.
“They have indicated that they will be able to operate their flight from Dubai on Wednesday. Then, by the grace of God, on Wednesday, we will begin the process of repatriation of our citizens from outside the country.
“If we got away with it, there are almost 4,000 Nigerians who want to go home, we would bring them right away and at once. But, there are several restrictions, the biggest of which is where to quarantine them.
“We have made every effort to get beds here in Abuja and Lagos. In Lagos, we have almost 300 beds available. So the first flight on Wednesday will be to Lagos.
“We hope that shortly after that, a British Airways flight that actually arrives in Nigeria on Friday to evacuate some British citizens here in Nigeria, as it is going to be empty, we have negotiated with the British Government for us to fill the plane” . in London with Nigerians coming back.
“Ideally, we would have loved for that flight to arrive in Abuja because we have been able to secure hotel rooms more than we have in Lagos. We have almost a thousand hotel rooms in Abuja, but we were informed that, unfortunately, that plane cannot reach Abuja but only Lagos, “Onyeama explained.
No vaccine until the end of 2021
Representative of the World Health Organization, WHO, Dr. Fiona Braka said that a vaccine against Covid-19 could be possible in the next 12 to 18 months.
She said; “Global research is being done to study the genetics of the virus, and by studying the genetics of the virus, it helps us develop a vaccine.
“So, thanks to the rapid exchange of genetic sequencing data from countries and we can advance the production of vaccines. We acknowledge the contributions of countries, including Nigeria, in sharing their genetic sequencing data.
“The first trial of the vaccine started as soon as 69 days after China shared the virus’s genetic sequencing information, and, as I mentioned in the last briefing, we have about 89 products that are currently in development for the vaccine.
“The figures keep updating because there is an accelerated process worldwide to try to find a vaccine. It takes years to develop a vaccine, but with the acceleration of these efforts, we hope that with an accelerated process, we will probably be seeing 12 to 18 months before the first product is available.
“And once that product is available, then there is a process to mass produce for global supply. We are optimistic, but in the meantime, when we don’t have a vaccine, we work on strategies to break the transmission cycle and how do we do it?
“It is through testing, isolation, contact tracing, quarantine to break that transmission cycle. On top of that, non-pharmaceutical interventions, which is what we’ve been advising the public about handwashing, coughing and sneezing, and others that are necessary to break the cycle while we wait for a vaccine, “he added.
Abuja residents complain
Meanwhile, residents of the nation’s capital Abuja were subjected to strenuous hours on the roads on Monday, as police and other security agencies erected barricades, leaving only a small part of the road for users.
This occurred even when some religious houses resumed congregational prayers and worship. However, most of the residents who left were seen wearing different degrees of face masks in compliance with one of the security measures established by the government.
Ibrahim Idris, a motorist who spoke to Vanguard, said police officers had mounted a roadblock on the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport road “without doing anything.”
“They just blocked the way to punish us. They left a small section of the road for motorists. When they got to where they put the obstacle, the operatives were not really doing anything, “he said.
Another resident, Grace Abiodun, complained about the banks’ refusal to open businesses, saying that most of them only opened one or two of their branches on the FCT.
In Kubwa and Dutse-Alhaji, where FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Musa Bello had banned commercial motorcycle rider operations, there was little compliance as passengers operated between police checkpoints.
Vanguard News Nigeria.
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