Federal Government has expressed doubt over the likelihood of imposing another total lockdown on parts of the country as part of measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, despite steady rise in the number of confirmed cases.
On Thursday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced 681 new cases of COVID-19 to bring the total to 14,554. Also, a total of 4,494 people have been discharged nationwide and 387 deaths recorded.
Howevy, the Chairman of Presidential Task Force of COVID-19, Mr. Boss Mustapha, ruled out the possibility of another total lockdown, while responding to a suggestion seeking to know if the federal government might be contemplating another review of the total lockdown in the light of a spike in the number of cases.
Mustapha, at the daily press briefing by the task force in Abuja, said another lockdown might not be necessary while the federal government in terms of strategic implementation of its policy would not be looking towards that direction.
He explained that the federal government would rather concentrate on how to strengthen what it had put in place, as well as to ensure compliance with all other non-pharmaceutical interventions already developed.
”I have indicated in my first address on this subject that we will study the situation, look at it and see how we are going. And if there is need for review that such will be advised by data, by science, by experiences of other jurisdictions and by the peculiarities of our environment.
”To go back to a total lockdown must be taken into context of what we do desire to achieve after we locked down for about four or five weeks and see how we fare. So, the issue of review might not have that in contemplation because you can’t move forward and begin to move backward again,” Mustapha said.
Meanwhile, Mustapha also said sporting activities, particularly the Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL), would remain suspended.
