The Federal Government has expressed concerns as cases of coronavirus in Nigeria shot to 111 cases as of Monday with a second death recorded.
The Secretary to the Government of Federation, Boss Mustapha, however, said the government would do its best to contain the situation.
Mustapha, who spoke at a joint press briefing with the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, in Abuja said the situation required the support of all residents.
He said, “We don’t know how long this thing will last; that’s the truth about it. I believe with sheer determination of all Nigerians we will overcome these challenges.
“We are doing everything to ensure the conformity of policies with state governments, we will do everything within our power to stop the case.”
He added, “Let me use this medium to appeal to all Nigerians, through you, for full understanding, unity of purpose and in the interest of humanity, to observe all measures put in place, remain vigilant and cooperate with security and other agencies who are toiling day and night to keep us safe and alive.”
Ehanire gave the breakdown of the conform cases as Lagos – 68, Federal Capital Territory -21, Oyo -7, Ogun -3, Bauchi -2, Edo -2, Osun -2, Enugu -2, Benue -1, Ekiti -1, Kaduna -1 and Rivers State.
He said three persons had already been discharged after successful treatment.
According to him, the majority of the victims are persons who came from abroad while others are those who had contact with them.
Ehanire said, ‘Till date, three persons have been discharged from successful treatment but sadly, another fatality was recorded over the weekend in the person of a patient who had an underlying illness.
“We have intensified contact tracing and our strategy remains to promptly detect cases, isolate them and follow up with contacts, isolate and treat, in order to reduce the spread of infection.”
The minister explained that it required four weeks of monitoring and treatment to declare an infected person free after testing negative twice within 24 hrs.
Responding to a question, Ehanire said no country could boast of having enough ventilators although not required for all cases.
He said, “The question of ventilator – yes we are addressing it. There is no country in this world that has enough ventilators. Of all the cases we have had so far only one requires a ventilator. Some require just Oxygen. Probably less than four per cent of the cases we are dealing with will require a ventilator.
“Government is also taking inventory of what each state requires —The number of ventilators you have in-country does not decide your rate of survival.’
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The minister noted that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control had expanded its capacity by engaging hundreds of ad-hoc staff to support various areas of response including the call centres, contact tracing and follow-up of persons of interest.
Ehanire said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had approved that all retired but essential and able staff be recalled to service.
He said the President had also issued directives for all Federal Government stadia, pilgrims camps and other facilities to be converted to isolation centres and makeshift hospitals for use as and when the situation so demands.
To increase access to testing, the minister said the Federal Government was working hard to open up as many testing sites as possible.
He said, “We project that in three weeks, seven more laboratories in Abakiliki, Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri, Port Harcourt and Sokoto will be added to this network to further expand testing capacity nationwide.
“I urge the members of the public to note that testing is free and at no cost to the public. Anyone demanding to be paid or given a tip should be immediately reported to the appropriate authorities.”
Ehanire said only those with symptoms such as fever, cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath in an area of medium or high prevalence of COVID-19, could test for the disease.
He added that only results of a test from one of the six molecular laboratories for COVID-19 in Nigeria were reliable because the Rapid Diagnostic Tests gave unreliable results.
He added, “As the situation evolves, we shall need to focus our limited resources on those persons, who actually need them most critically; from testing to the treatment of confirmed cases.
“In the absence of a vaccine, preventive measures such as social distancing, have proven to be highly effective in curbing the spread of the disease in other parts of the world.”
As part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the minister said only ships that had been at sea for more than 14 days could dock in ports after crew members have been confirmed to be healthy and negative for COVID-19.
“An exception to the 14-day restriction are vessels carrying oil and gas products, where human interphase between crew and shore is absent or insignificant.
“These measures may cause inconveniences, but I urge all citizens to accept and practice them in good faith, as they are for our common good and in the interest of us all. The earlier we collectively take responsibility, the sooner we can go back to living our normal lives.”
