FG Expresses Concern over Non-Compliance with Guidelines, Warns of Another Lockdown via thisdaylive
•Govt appeals to banks, corporate bodies to create favourable conditions for observance of regulations•Begins evacuation of Nigerians from US, UK, others tomorrow•Lagos discharges 14 more patients
The basic rules of mask-wearing and physical distancing were routinely disobeyed yesterday by many Nigerians who hit the roads of Abuja and Lagos in frenzied efforts to catch up with lost income-earning activities that had been locked down for weeks. Addressing the press yesterday in Abuja during its daily briefing on efforts to control the pandemic, officials of the task force, particularly, its Chairman, Mr. Boss Mustapha, and the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, expressed concerns about the general negligence of Nigerians, fearing that it could lead to the escalation of the deadly infection.
He said: “One of the biggest groups that were allowed to restart business today were the banks. But many banks have now limited the number of branches that were open. Yes, there are advantages; but when you limit the number of branches that are opened, everybody goes to the one branch that is opened and that becomes counter-productive.
He noted that the objective of the nationwide ban on interstate movements was to mitigate the spread of the virus across state boundaries, adding that the enforcement of the policy must align with the president’s directive. “Thanks to rapid sharing of sequencing data from countries; we are able to advance production of vaccines and we do acknowledge the contributions of countries in sharing their genetics sequencing data, including Nigeria. And so, the first vaccine trials started as early as 60 days just after the genetic sequencing information was shared by China,” she said.
He explained that the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had helped in securing almost 300-bed accommodation to ease off the challenge of finding a space where the returnees would be quarantined. “So, we will be liaising with the Federal Ministry of Education to make sure we have the needed data to carry out the exercise,” he added.On the situation in Kano State, Ihekweazu said the government was focusing on the state because of the emerging issues of increased infections.
“The other thing we did was support the delivery of a new lab altogether; a new lab that was funded by the Aliko Dangote Foundation and delivered by a Nigerian company called 54gene. The entire conceptualization and delivery happened in seven days. We will over the weeks build up its capacity to 400 tests per day and plan to expand more.
“I also, call on all health care facilities, both private and public not to reject persons seeking medical help, especially in emergencies. It is unethical not to attend to persons in distress. I also urge citizens to go to the hospital when not feeling well and to cooperate by giving accurate information especially with regard to travel history.”The Federal Capital Territory Administration has also issued guidelines on easing of lockdown on construction sites.
As federal workers resumed duties and commercial activities picked up in FCT, there were mounting concerns over massive breach of social distancing measures in the city.THISDAY checks showed that while returning workers in the ministries wore face masks and were subjected to the use of hand sanitisers before entering their offices, the situation in some banks was chaotic where the social distancing measures were breached.
However, the policemen’s focus was on the arrest of commercial motorcyclists, whose operations were banned by the state government. In Lagos, some of the banks visited with a large number of customers were at Dopemu, Alimosho; Idimu; and around Gbagada/Oworonshoki.
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