As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak huge havoc on humanity, economies and others systems, the federal government said it will from next week roll out the pilot exercise on the use of Rapid Diagnostic Test-Kits (RDTs) in 5 tertiary health institutions in Abuja.
This followed criticisms that the government is not doing enough to ramp up resting which experts believe will give a clearer picture of the actual figures of infected persons.
This is as government said it is putting in place, measures to deepen community engagement and enforcement of protocols, including meeting with Security Agencies.
The government had revealed that over one million test has been conducted so far, with only four states covering 1% of their population.
Despite the low level of testing however, Nigeria crossed the 100,000 cases mark on Sunday night and now rank second in the number of new cases, the 4th in cumulative cases in Africa and 5th in cumulative deaths. Last week, Nigeria recorded over 9,000 cases.
Chairman of the Presidential Task Force PTF on the COVID-19 containment, Boss Mustapha, speaking at the national briefing on Monday, noted that “Realistically, if we estimate the numbers missed, we would be in a much higher region. There is no state in Nigeria that is immune to this pandemic even if reports are not coming out of such States.
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Mustapha, who is also the Secretary to the government of the Federation, listed factors that have contributed to rise in numbers from late November 2020, to include; “ increased local and international travels, business and religious activities, reopening of schools without strict compliance with COVID-19 safety measures.”
He noted that the PTF has continued to receive inquiries about the issue of testing before travelling out of Nigeria. For the avoidance of doubts, the Protocol in Nigeria requires in-bound passengers to test, not more than 96 hours, before boarding flights to Nigeria.
“However, for passengers leaving Nigeria, it remains the responsibility of travelers to confirm the requirements of the country of destination and that of the carrier of choice.
For in-bound travellers, a new protocol on pre-boarding has been released and compliance is still strongly recommended. The additional requirements for passengers coming from the United Kingdom and South Africa also remain in force. The NC will also speak on this during the briefing.”
He noted that isolation of different strains of the virus is being vigorously pursued, adding that the “PTF is working with the Africa CDC and the NCDC on the sequencing of the COVID strains circulating in Nigeria. We shall keep Nigerians informed as the exercise progresses.”
Mustapha reiterated that the third stream of NYSC members will resume on 18th January adding that “the PTF is working closely with the management to ensure that participants are tested and protocols are complied with.
He disclosed that the PTF has advanced the preparation for the management of all aspects of the vaccines discuss.
“Particularly, lessons are being drawn from other jurisdictions on the successes and challenges of the vaccine administration” he said
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