Lockdown easing directive
Nigeria has confirmed 238 new cases of coronavirus, raising the country’s total to 2,170. just as the country’s fiftth week of lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun is to be relaxed Monday.
The guideline for the ease of lockdown, signed by the chairman of the PTF, Boss Mustapha, mandates anyone in public spaces to use non-medical face masks.
In the mean time, Nigeria has confirmed 238 new cases of coronavirus, raising the country’s total to 2,170.
The figures released late Friday by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), showed Kano leading the table for the second straight day ahead of Abuja and Lagos.
Source: https://currencyrate.today/converter-widgetWhile Kano reported 92 new cases, Abuja followed with 36 while Lagos fell to the third spot for the first time with 30.
In all, Lagos remains the epicentre of the infection with 1,006 cases, followed by Kano with 311 and Abuja with 214. Gombe and Borno took fourth and fifth positions of the total.
Since the start of the pandemic, 351 patients have been treated and discharged across the country. Sixty-eight people have so far been officially confirmed to have died of the virus.
“238 new cases of #COVID19; 92-Kano 36-FCT 30-Lagos 16-Gombe 10-Bauchi 8-Delta 6-Oyo 5-Zamfara 5-Sokoto4-Ondo 4-Nasarawa 3-Kwara 3-Edo 3-Ekiti 3-Borno 3-Yobe 2-Adamawa 1-Niger 1-Imo 1-Ebonyi 1-Rivers 1-Enugu. 2170 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria Discharged: 351, Deaths: 68,” the NCDC wrote on its Twitter handle late Friday night.
BREAKDOWN
A breakdown of all the 2170 cases shows that Lagos State has so far reported 1,006 cases, followed by Kano – 311, FCT – 214, Borno – 69, Gombe – 92, Bauchi – 48, Delta – 17, Oyo – 29, Zamfara – 9, Sokoto – 41, Ondo – 13, Nasarawa – 7, Kwara – 14, Edo – 47, Ekiti-11, Borno-69, Yobe-4, Adamawa – 4, Niger – 3, Imo-2, Ebonyi – 3, Enugu – 4, Rivers – 14, Ogun – 56, Osun – 34, Katsina – 40, Kaduna – 35, Akwa Ibom – 16, Taraba – 8, Jigawa – 7, Kebbi–2, Bayelsa – 5, Abia – 2, and Benue, Anambra, Plateau, have one case each.
The number of infected people in the country is expected to rise as the country has entered into the community transmission phase. The country has also increased its testing capacity.
The NCDC said Nigeria now has 18 laboratories for testing COVID-19 and has carried out over 15,000 tests.
Easing The Lockdown:
The guideline announced stated that interstate travels are prohibited — save for essential travel services — as well as gathering of more than 20 people outside of a workplace.
“Social distancing of 2 metres must be maintained between people in workplaces and other public spaces,” the directive read, while also stating that ban on all passenger flights and religious gatherings will continue.
“Movement between LGAs (except metropolitan areas) is strongly discouraged unless for critical reasons such as healthcare and work,” Mr Mustapha wrote in the document.
“All inter-state travel for supply chain & services allowed, such as: goods, agro-products with a limited capacity of accompanying personnel, petroleum products, relief items, supplies, construction supplies, registered courier services (DHL, FedEx, etc) and security services.”
Although people may go out for work or buy food and exercise, public buses have been asked to reduce their occupancy by half; taxis to 4 persons; and tricycles to 3 persons, the driver inclusive.
Also, civil servants in grade level 14-17 will now go to work on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 8.00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m., the same time banks are to open.
Schools were also encouraged to continue e-learning and virtual teaching as they will remain closed till further evaluation.
“The level of compliance with these guidelines will be reviewed in 2 weeks before additional guidelines for phase 2 is issued,” the document concluded.
Lagos remains the hotpot of the infection in the country, but Kano has seen a surge in cases in the last five days, a time within which its figure tripled to over 210 as of Thursday night. The two states are Nigeria’s largest city with over 30 million combined population.
Lagos, Kano and Abuja account for about 70 per cent of the country’s cases of the disease.
Meanwhile, the founder of DAAR Communications, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, his daughter-in-law and six members of his family have tested positive for coronavirus.
This comes three days after his son and Chairman of the board of the company, Raymond Dokpesi Jnr, tested positive for the virus.
According to ait.live, a test conducted by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on the Dokpesi family came out positive for the eight members of the family.
It stated that other affected family members were, on Friday, conveyed by the NCDC to the isolation centre at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, where his son was receiving treatment.
It was gathered that the media mogul, who spoke to journalists shortly after the arrival of the ambulance, said, “I am quite okay, I feel very well.”
Dokpesi Jnr had tested positive for COVID-19 after symptoms, which he said were similar to malaria.
However, after persistent bouts of cough, he was said to have contacted the NCDC, which confirmed he had the infectious virus.
Contact tracing immediately commenced with his family members. The test was later extended to senior management and members of staff who had been in close contact with the company’s index case.
The health authorities in the Federal Capital Territory had also carried out an immediate fumigation of the entire DAAR Headquarters building on Kpaduma hills in the Asokoro District of Abuja.
A statement issued on Friday by the management of the media organisation said the decision followed “the test carried out on our Chairman, Chief Raymond Dokpesi Jnr, on Thursday April 23, 2020, by the National Centre for Disease Control, which eventually proved positive.”
The statement added, “High Chief Aleogho Dokpesi (His Father/Founder, DAAR Communications PLC), our chairman’s wife, his three children and some relatives, a total of eight, are all presently on their way to the Federal Government isolation centre at Gwagwalada in Abuja.
“The Board, Management and the entire staff wish them the grace of the good Lord for speedy recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic”.
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