The Two-weeks lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States expires on Monday night and there have been questions on whether the President, Muhammadu Buhari will extend or lift the ban.
The President had on Sunday night met with the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire and the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu over the strange deaths in Kano State and what to be the next line of action as the lockdown order expires tonight.
Speaking with newsmen after a closed-door meeting with the President, the Health Minister said he and Ihekweazu briefed the president on the activities of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.
He said: “The fight is going on very well. As I said, all countries have continued with the struggle against coronavirus, using the strategies that they have developed for their own countries.
“We have developed a strong strategy as we are working with other expert groups like the NCDC and relevant health organisations. So, we are also working with the states and the governors.’’
On his part, the DG of NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu said the centre will continue to build up its testing strategies.
“At the moment, 14 testing centres have been activated across the country. We want to bring the test closer to every state. Everybody is working very hard to solve this problem.
“I can see that some people are already procuring Rapid Diagnostic Test Kits. They don’t work as far as we know. So, I will really recommend that we all stick to the National Strategy, build on it, support its expansion and together we will get on top of the pandemic,’’ he stated.
Will the Lockdown Be Extended?
Already, the Kaduna State Government has already extended the lockdown order in the state for another 30 days but the minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire neither confirm nor deny whether the extension in FCT, Lagos and Ogun States will be extended.
Speaking on a television programme, Ehanire said only the President would determine when to lift the lockdown occasioned by the Coronavirus pandemic in the country.
On April 13, Buhari announced a 14-day extension of lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun states to combat the pandemic.
The initial 14-day lockdown in the three states began on March 30.
“The President in his wisdom will decide if the lockdown will be lifted,” he said.
The minister said that the decision to extend COVID-19 lockdown was tailored according to the needs of every country.
“We do think that the restriction of movement limits significantly the spread of the virus.
“The models we have seen show that we have not gotten to the peak yet,” he said.
Many Nigerians have been groaning as hunger and insecurity persist amidst the lockdown order.
At this moment there are 1.182 known infections in Nigeria. Currently, 35 people have died, 925 people are still sick and 222 people have recovered from the coronavirus in Nigeria.
The coronavirus is affecting 211 other countries around the world, including one international conveyance (the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship harboured in Yokohama, Japan.
