…Says cases in Nigeria to rise with eased lockdown
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Control of COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha, said Thursday that approximately 160,000 persons test positive for Coronavirus on a daily basis globally.
He said recent statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO) indicated that 60% of all COVID-19 cases globally have been reported in the last one month.
He said the WHO report also indicated that the United States of America reports around 45,000 new cases daily while Italy and Spain hitherto considered epicenters of the pandemic are reporting 10,000 and 6,500 new cases per day, respectively.
He said all the cases underscore the dilemma Nigeria was in and the need for citizens to take responsibility and adhere to guidelines against the virus.
“The global community continues to struggle with the pandemic in terms of spread, impact and national response. In all science and data continue to point the way especially in the urgent search for a vaccine and cure.
“Developments around the world over the last few days have been quite instructive and they further underscore the need for compliance and for caution.
“The WHO announced on Wednesday that 60% of all COVID-19 cases globally have been reported in the last one month. It was further noted that for the past week, the number of new cases have exceeded 160,000 on every single day.
“This update comes as the United States of America is reporting around 45,000 new cases a day while two known European nations (Italy & Spain) hitherto considered epicenters of the pandemic were reporting 10,000 and 6,500 new cases per day, at their respective peaks,” he said.
He said now the lockdown has been eased further, and that new rise in cases are to be expected.
He said the Presidential Task Force would not hesitate to change course when the need arises.
“What this means is that Nigerians should never mistake the relaxation by government as a signal that the COVID-19 battle had been concluded.
“We gave you a comparison between the numbers as at 28th May, 2020 and 28th June 2020 to underscore the jump in the figures for the world, across Africa and in Nigeria.
“Yesterday, Wednesday July 1, 2020 Nigeria reached another daily milestone with our new daily cases reaching 790,” he said.
On resumption of schools, the SGF said it was still not safe for academic work to commence. “The PTF similarly announced some limited measures for the education sector.
Specifically, we pointed out that it was still not safe to reopen schools. However, in order not to truncate the progression of pupils and students in critical examination classes, the President approved that arrangements be made for them to resume for those who need revision before the commencement of examinations.
“This aspect has been subjected to several interpretations and misinterpretations. For the avoidance of doubts, schools have not resumed. Only critical examination classes will be allowed to resume for those who need revision before examinations.
“As we have informed you, the Federal Ministry of education will consult further with stakeholders before issuing guidelines that will lead to full resumption. We appeal to Nigerians to continue to show understanding and to ensure that their wards take full advantage of electronic platforms provided for learning.”
