The Federal Government has announced plans to ban inter-state travel and possibly close down motor parks as part of measures to curtail the spread of coronavirus across the country.
Igbere TV reports that Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed stated this at a press briefing on Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Abuja, on Thursday.
The minister while insisting that strategy adopted by the federal government in containing the pandemic was working, said Nigeria has a short window to fight the dreaded disease totally.
He said as part of the strategy, train movement nationwide had been stopped, while disclosing that government equally plans to fumigate cities and towns nationwide.
“We have taken very bold measures in stopping international flights into the country, and we hail the state governments that have take equally bold measures in their states, which include the closure of markets and the prohibition of large congregations.
“However, we are determined to be more aggressive in enforcing the measures aimed at containing the spread of the virus, such as social distancing, contact tracing, Testing, Isolation of suspected cases, and ensuring that our messaging gets down to the grassroots.”
“Gentlemen, I don’t intend to sound apocalyptic. But the truth is that time is running out. If we don’t urgently and more aggressively, we have a short window within which to stop this pandemic or face an explosion in terms of the cases. We cannot afford to be complacent.”
The minister said whatever decision would be taken in the coming weeks and from time to time to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, will be in the best interest of Nigerians.
He also announced that government had received donated safety and test kits from the Jack Ma Foundation in China, which include 100,000 Face Masks, 1,000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and 20,000 test kits.
“The face masks and the PPE will be distributed to the front-line health workers while the test kits will be shared among the five test laboratories,” Mohammed added.
He said the federal government was working and taking measures to increase the number of bed spaces for isolation of suspects across the country.
“The facilities we have now include the 40-bed Facility, the 60-bed Facility, and the 160-bed Facility, all in Abuja, We are still looking at other facilities within the Federal Capital Territory,” he added.
While urging those who have had contact with suspected cases to step forward, the minister lamented that government was not getting the kind of cooperation the moment deserves from Nigerians.
“Many are busy engaging in meaningless criticisms instead of complying with the stipulated directives to keep people safe,” he alleged.
“Some Nigerians who flew into the country from overseas filled wrong addresses and phone numbers in their forms, making it difficult to trace them when the need arises.
“Some Nigerians defied orders to stay away from large gatherings while some religious leaders willfully flouted the directives to ensure social distancing.
“The government is doing its best but we need the citizens to do their best too. We have now gone past the stage of persuasion. It’s time for strong enforcement.”
On the decision by some airlines like Air Peace, Aero and Azman, Dana and Arik to suspend their flight operations, Mohammed said the decision was a boost for the efforts of the government to check the spread of the pandemic.
“Some of the airlines have also announced one form of support or another for the government’s efforts
to tackle the pandemic. This is very commendable. We are aware of more private sector support to the FG and will be announcing this after full compilation.
“We seek the support and cooperation of more capable individuals and organizations in order to defeat this pandemic,” Lai Mohammed added.
The minister, therefore, called on Nigerians not to panic over the pandemic, saying government was determined to work with the good people of Nigeria to defeat coronavirus. “And defeat the disease we will.”
Igbere TV reports that Nigeria currently has 51 confirmed coronavirus cases spread across eight states, with two patients discharged and one death recorded.
