Fresh lockdown may be imposed if coronavirus cases rise with deaths - PTF

Due to the rising cases of the second wave of COVID-19 infections in Nigeria, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Sani Aliyu, has said that a fresh lockdown may be required.

Aliyu made this known on Thursday, January 7, 2021, during a briefing in Abuja.

This is coming after the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the Federal Government has no plan to impose a fresh lockdown.

However, the PTF Coordinator while speaking on Thursday said the continuous rise of the second wave of the COVID-19 infections in the country might require a fresh lockdown.

He said, “If these numbers continue to go up and we start having significant deaths, we will have no option. If we do not want to lock down, now is the time to make sure that we follow the non-pharmaceutical interventions.”

Also speaking on the rising cases of the disease in Nigeria, Boss Mustapha, PTF Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said “The Presidential Task Force is very concerned about the increasing daily numbers that we are recording.

“On 6th of January 2021, we recorded 1,664 infections. This is yet another all-time high in Nigerian and we must all take full responsibility through compliance and vigilance.”

Recall that during the first wave of the pandemic, the Federal Government in March 2020, locked down Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for over five weeks to curb the spread of the disease.