The Federal Government has said that it is considering a targeted lockdown in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna and some other major cities across the country.
This follows the record increase in the number of coronavirus infections in the country as a result of the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
This disclosure was made by the National Incident Manager of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19, Dr Mukhtar Muhammad, while appearing on a Channels Television programme, Sunrise Daily.
Muhammad pointed out that even if the government wants to impose a lockdown, in the face of a surge in Covid-19 cases, it is not going to be a total one.
What the National Incident Manager of PTF on Covid-19 is saying
Muhammad in his statement said, “Certainly, even if we are going to have a lockdown, it is not going to be a total lockdown. A couple of weeks back, we analysed the data and we identified the hotspot local government areas.’’
“Mostly, the areas affected are the urban local governments in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Plateau. Even in most other states, it is the urban areas that are involved. So, if we are going to have any restrictions, it will be in these areas.’’
“The urban areas are the most affected and that is why we have these superspreaders and that is where we are going to target. We have analysed that and we are advising the states based on the data that these are the focused areas where these transmissions are more than the others.”
Although recoveries from the disease in the country have crossed the 100,000 mark, the Federal government is worried that with over 127,000 infections, many citizens are not adhering to the safety protocols.
What you should know
- Nigeria has been hit by a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, since December 2020, with a record number of daily infections recorded across the country.
- The unfortunate situation seems to have eroded all the efforts put in the last 10 months by the government and some other stakeholders in curbing the spread of the Covid-19 disease.
- The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, had on Thursday revealed that the country has secured additional 41 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines as the fight against the disease intensifies.
- However, the date of the vaccine’s delivery into the country remains unknown as vaccine manufacturers struggle to meet global demand in time.