The Federal Government is expected to announce the next phase of eased lockdown in the country on Tuesday (tomorrow).
Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, made this known on Monday.
He disclosed this after the task force members met with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), at the Presidential Villa.
Bashir Ahmad, Personal Assistant on New Media to Buhari, tweeted, “Today is the last day of Nigeria’s phase II of the eased lockdown, members of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefed and submitted their recommendations to the President for approval, the next lines of action will be announced tomorrow, SGF Boss Mustapha discloses.”
It was reported that members of the task force were led to the meeting by Mustapha.
Others in the delegation were the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire; the Coordinator of the PTF on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu; and the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu.
The meeting, it was learnt was meant to brief Buhari on the ongoing efforts to curtail the spread of COVID-19 and the next steps to be taken.
PTF EXPLAINS REASON FOR LOW COVID-19 DEATH RATE IN NIGERIA.
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic has cited the prevalence of the disease among the younger generation as reason for the low death rate in Nigeria.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the PTF, Mr Boss Mustapha, cited the reason while speaking to State House Correspondents after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday.
According to Mustapha, around 80% of the infected persons were between the 31 years to 40 years age bracket, an active demography, which he noted that even when they have the infection, they are able to surmount it because of their level of energy.
He, however, noted that the PTF was worried about the remaining 20% as he said nobody knows who may become victim among them, adding that everything was being done to protect them.
He also hinted that government may introduce precision lockdown for pinpoint management of coronavirus hotspots.
According to him, 18 out of the 774 local governments in the country have been identified as responsible for 60% of the confirmed cases in the country.
He added that the reason for the precision lockdown will be to place specific measures in certain places especially by state governments to enable aggressive testing for the disease and management.
FG CONSIDERS LOCKDOWN OF 18 LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS.
The Federal Government may consider a lockdown of the 18 Local Government Areas considered to account for 60 per cent of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria in the next phase of eased lockdown in the country.
The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, gave the indication in an interview with the press and other State House correspondents after leading some members of the task force to brief the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday.
Mustapha, who is the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said affected state governments would implement what he called “precision lockdown.”
While noting that the nation has not reached its peak as far as confirmed cases were concerned, he urged all stakeholders to ensure compliance with all non-pharmaceutical interventions.
He also gave an insight into the reason behind the low fatality rate in Nigeria, saying 80% of the infections are in the age bracket of 31 to 40 years, which he described as a very active part of the population.
According to data earlier released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, 11 out of the 20 local government areas that account for 60% of the cases are in Lagos State
The report listed the councils to include that Lagos Mainland Local Government Area, Abuja Municipal Area Council, Mushin Local Government Area, Eti-Osa Local Government Area in Lagos and Tarauni Local Government Area in Kano State.
The Federal Government is expected to announce the next phase of eased lockdown in the country on Tuesday (tomorrow).
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