FG set re-open schools, others, unveil new COVID-19 measures on Thursday

There are indications that the Federal government is set to re-open schools and more sectors of the economy any moment, on the back of new COVID-19 protocols

Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Coronavirus, PTF COVID-19, Boss Mustapha disclosed this on Monday at regular briefings of the PTF COVID-19 briefing in Abuja.

This is coming as the extension of the current ease of lockdown expired on Monday, 31st of August, 2020.

Mustapha said the PTF will submit a fresh report on the assessment of the current ease of lockdown to President Muhammadu Buhari anytime this week, with the possibilities of further reopening of the economy on the approval of the President

“As we plan to re-open more sectors, we must stay the course and stick with our winning strategy which is anchored on the ability of our health institutions to contain the virus while we as citizens wear our masks properly, stay away from crowded places, avoid mass gatherings, maintain simple hygienic practices and as much as possible protect the elderly and most vulnerable to this pandemic..

“It is in the above context that the PTF appreciates the on-going calls for re-opening of the education sector and indeed some sub-nationals are already making preparations for such. Whilst the PTF does not discourage making such preparations, we need to be guided by experiences from countries such as Germany, France, the United States and the UK where opening of schools in some cities led to an increase in confirmed cases and fatalities.

“As we end this phase, the would be submitting the Seventh Interim Report to Mr. President and would be guided by his directives on the next phase. The decisions and approval would be transmitted at the national briefing on Thursday 3rd September, 2020.

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, however expressed the need for increased vigilance as plans for Lagos and Abuja airports to reopen for commercial international flights.

Ehanire also expressed hope that government is planning to scale up testing to 4 million persons

Ehanire noted that most laboratories across the countries are operating well below capacity, added that efforts are ongoing to to ensure provision for at least one laboratory in every State, with only Niger, Kebbi and Taraba now outstanding.

“Our target is to test 2 million Nigerians for covid-19, of which we have achieved barely a quarter and to scale up to 4 million persons.

However, plans have been concluded to set up and optimize laboratories in all states”.

For this, collaboration with State and FCT health sector structures is crucial. We urge all State organs not to relent in strengthening surveillance and setting up sample collection sites in all LGAs, and even in all wards of the hotspot LGAs.

He said that ensuring review of the COVID-19 protocols to ensure early detection, isolation and treatment of any positive case has become critical. “While this protocol may cause inconvenience, like delays at the airport, it is a small price to pay for our safely and health, especially for travellers”.

“As we strive to bring COVID-19 under control, we endeavour to keep our eyes on other diseases that contribute to mortality, especially of women and children in Nigeria. Malaria is one such example, for which we continue to strengthen routine services in our primary health care facilities”.

“This morning, we disseminated the report of 2018 Malaria Therapeutic Efficacy Studies (TES) for three artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT), which were tested in Enugu, Kano and Plateau States. These studies are conducted at interval, to detect drug resistance to malaria parasite, early enough to have treatment that works”.

“The findings from the study show the three ACTs to be efficacious against uncomplicated malaria, though there have been reports of malaria parasite resistance to Artemisinin in some Asian countries. No resistance was observed in studies done in Nigeria. It is wise to test all fever cases and be sure it is malaria, and to treat only confirmed cases with Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACTs)”.

According to the Minister, their has been significant drop in testing due to reduced sample collection across many States, for reasons that are not clear in all cases.

Lagos, for example, tested over 35 thousand in July and just under 20 thousand in August, while Kano dropped from 23 thousand in July to just under 4 thousand in August. These are just examples that show that there is more work to do and many more challenges ahead.

“We shall commission a study group of the Ministerial Experts Advisory Committee to begin processes to examine this development, to bring up new knowledge which can guide response or may have an implication on government decision making.

“With a total of 1,013 deaths recorded so far, the case fatality rate has also dropped slightly to 1.88 percent, the gradual fall is possibly an indication of improvement in response and treatment strategies to contain covid-19 and also a common global trend”.

“As long as we still record deaths from this disease, there is no room for complacency until we meet our goal to reduce fatality rate to less than 1 percent”.