FG Not Expecting Upsurge in COVID-19 Fatality
The Federal Government has said that it is not expecting an upsurge in COVID-19 fatality.
This was stated by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha on Monday during their regular press briefing of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19. The SGF, however, said there is more work to be done.
Mustapha also revealed that Nigeria now has 11 molecular diagnostic laboratories following the activation of two in Kano and Jos, adding that the spread of COVID-19 has slowed down, but warned against stigmatising those who tested positive for the virus.
He further said that governors would henceforth handle the distribution of relief materials in states.
Mustapha, who is the chairman of the PTF, said the government had received about five tonnes of medical consumables from the United Nations (UN) to fight the disease.
He also said significant progress has been made since the President‘s broadcast on March 29, adding that COVID-19 spread had been slowed down to avoid overwhelming the country’s fragile health system, while case identification, testing, and isolation were intensified.
The SGF further said that the team and other stakeholders had intensified contact tracing and isolation, adding that 92 percent of all contacts have been identified.
Mustapha said the PTF had increased testing by 50 percent to the current capacity of 1,500 tests per day, with over 6,000 tests done and the procurement of a new high throughput testing would be concluded by month-end.
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He further revealed that the government had distributed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to over 40,000 healthcare workers and over 7,000 healthcare workers have been trained on infection prevention and control even as the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) teams have been deployed in 19 states.
“While we recognise the difficulties associated with such unprecedented action, we remain certain however that it is a step in the right direction for us to secure a healthier tomorrow,” he said.
