Boss Mustapha SGF
HealthHighlightNews From MDA'STrending Story

COVID-19: PTF submits report to Pres. Buhari on Thursday, may give new directives

242

 

 

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 pandemic has announced that it would submit the 7th Interim Report to President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday just as the nation and the PTF wait  presidential directives on the next phase implementation.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and PTF Chairman on COVID-19, Mr  Boss Mustapha, said at Monday’s briefing in Abuja that the decisions and approval of  Buhari would be communicated to the nation at Thursday’s briefing.

He cautioned some states against plans to reopen schools, saying they should learn from the experiences of other countries where opening of schools in some cities led to a spike in confirmed cases and fatalities.

He said as the nation plans to reopen more sectors, everyone must stay the course and stick with the winning strategy which is anchored on the ability of our health institutions to contain the virus while citizens wear facemasks properly, stay away from crowded places, avoid mass gatherings, maintain simple hygienic practices and as much as possible protect the elderly and most vulnerable to this pandemic.

Mustapha said:“It is in the above context that the PTF appreciates the ongoing calls for re-opening of the education sector and indeed some sub-nationals are already making preparations for such.

“While the PTF does not discourage making such preparations, we need to be guided by experiences from countries such as Germany, France, the United States and the UK where opening of schools in some cities led to an increase in confirmed cases and fatalities.”

He noted that globally, the number of confirmed cases has exceeded the 25 million mark, which is attributable to resurgence in countries hitherto considered to have effectively contained the virus while a good number of countries that have relaxed restriction measures are others actually re-introducing such, which in some cases are being made more stringent on the basis of lessons learned.

For Nigeria, Mustapha said the last three weeks had shown a slowdown in the number of confirmed cases.

“Indeed, in the last four months of testing, the lowest daily figure of confirmed cases (138) was reported on 30th August 2020. The PTF still urges caution and vigilance on the declining numbers because the virus is still potent and very dangerous. This position is informed by the fact in spite of our enhanced testing capacity, the number of samples collected for testing have not been encouraging.’’

The SGF also recalled that at the outbreak of the pandemic, it was predicted that the African continent, with its weak health infrastructure and propensity to high disease burden, would be the worst hit.

He, however said that a recent publication by the Weekly Science Review has indicated that despite having 17 percent of the global population, Africa has accounted for just five percent of global confirmed COVID-19 cases and three percent of deaths.

He added:“Furthermore, a recent study by a group of African countries, in East Africa indicates that Africa has weathered the storm of the pandemic with a death ratio of 1:10000 persons at a total of 23,000 so far.

“According to the study, far more Africans have been infected with the virus and are now resistant to it for reasons such as more exposure to variants of the coronavirus and regular exposure to malaria and other infectious diseases, which prime the African Immune system to fight new pathogens.

“The PTF is however studying the manifestation of the virus in Nigeria and in other countries and continents in order to understand its nature. This should ordinarily give us encouragement that we are winning the war against the COVID-19 pandemic.

“But unfortunately, the science, data and experience from other parts of the world indicate that such data should be viewed with extreme caution, as it is prone to be very deceptive and could be misleading if we let down our guards and be influenced to deviate from our strategy of cautious optimism that have brought Nigeria this far.”

Mustapha noted that equally important for Nigeria is the that the nation is seeing a gradual shift in areas of high infection burden with Plateau State reporting the highest number of confirmed cases and which could be related to increased testing by citizens of the state.

“However, we also need to look at the flip side that there are a number of highly undetected cases lying around which we need to discover and deal with early.”

He noted that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has published a draft landscape of the COVID-19 candidate vaccines and that as at 28 August, 2020 a total 173 candidate vaccines are under evaluation.

The SGF explained: “33 are under clinical evaluation (eight at phase 3 trials); 143 candidate vaccines are in pre-clinical evaluation; As the PTF has always maintained, early testing, detection, tracing and treatment remains the second-best option for dealing with this pandemic, with the first being staying safe.

“In this wise, we implore Nigerians to get tested and present cases requiring treatment early to reduce our avoidable fatalities. Testing positive for coronavirus is not a death sentence, not testing and concealing cases of symptoms and presenting late is what leads to death.”

Leave a comment

Related Articles

N1.3trn fraud: EFCC arrests, grills ex-Delta Gov. Okowa

A former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has been apprehended by the...

Equatorial Guinea government official embroiled in sextape scandal

Mr. Baltasar Engonga, Director General of the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF)...

CAF ruling against Libya: Nigerian govt. promises to protect its citizens in Libya

Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to...

Polaris Bank wins “Best Mobile App” award at Digital Jurist Awards 2024

For its commitment to digital innovation and excellence, Polaris Bank has again...

Updated: After six years of injustice, Nigeria’s ex-Chief Justice, Onnoghen, finally gets justice

The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Monday, overturned the conviction of...

Flood sacks 4 Anambra council areas as Soludo activates 27 IDP camps

By Emmanuel Ndukuba, Awka Floods have devastated four local government areas in...

Four-month salary: NASU, SSANU secure irrevocable commitment from FG, suspend strike

After a six-day strike, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of non-teaching staff...

Three radio stations in Abia destroyed by mysterious fire

A mysterious fire has hit three radio stations in Abia in Abia...

Seven new ministers for inauguration on Monday, Nov. 4

President Bola Tinubu will preside over the oath-taking of seven new ministers...

Youth shot dead for playing football near VIP’s house

A 70-year-old man, Mr. Stephen Irobunda, has escaped a mob action in...

Renowned Nigerian filmmaker, director Dimeji Ajibola is dead

Dimeji Ajibola, the acclaimed Nigerian filmmaker behind the popular series Shanty Town,...

Just in: UK Conservative Party elects former Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch as new leader

Former British Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has emerged as the new leader...

Demolition of Abuja N200bln properties: Restrain Wike, Estate Developers Beg Pres. Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has been urged to intervene in the alleged demolition...

FirstBank’s retired CEO, Adeduntan, gets presidential commendation

Impressed with his exemplary career trajectory and transformative leadership, President Bola Tinubu...

#EndBadGovernance protests: AGF to Police: Transfer casefiles of 72 defendants to my office

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince...

NAGAFF Taps NPA MD, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, as Keynote Speaker for Silver Jubilee Anniversary

The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has announced Dr....

It’s fake news: Fubara did not order shut down of NNPC Ltd, oil companies in Rivers

The Rivers State Government has refuted a report circulating on social media,...

Tinubu to NEC: Allow tax reform bills pass through legislative process, public hearing

President Bola Tinubu has received the National Economic Council’s recommendation that the...

Minister Inspects Bagaja Renewables’ Zawaciki 1MWp Mini-Grid Amid Northern Power Crisis

As northern Nigeria grapples with prolonged power outages, Minister of Power Adelabu...

Just in: Court grants VeryDarkMan N2m bail

Reprieve has come for the detained social media critic, Martins Otse, popularly...