COVID-19: Nigeria may face another nationwide lockdown if cases continue to rise – PTF
PHOTO: Sani Aliyu
NEWSMAN – Federal Government has said it will be left with no option than to impose a fresh lockdown in the country if the number of COVID-19 infections continues to spike.
The National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Sani Aliyu, stated this on Friday during a media briefing in Abuja.
Aliyu said the rising Coronavirus infections was a source of concern and might require a fresh lockdown.
He however 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.”
Meanwhile, the PTF Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, who spoke earlier, said, “The Presidential Task Force is very concerned about the increasing daily numbers that we are recording.
“On the 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”, he said.
Recall that in March, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered a 14-day lockdown in three major states (Lagos, Ogun and Abuja) in a bid to curb the spread of the virus, DAILYPOST reported.
However, the lockdown had adverse effects on both households and businesses as many Nigerians are daily wage earners and the disruption to the supply chain impacted businesses negatively. This plunged the country into the second recession in four years with consumer purchasing power badly eroded.
