THE Lagos State may impose a fresh lockdown on business activities and movement if the regulations for checking the spread of COVID-19 continue to be disregarded by the residents, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu warned on Saturday.
The governor declared that government might be forced to review the terms of easing the lockdown if there was no improvement in the adherence to the guidelines initiated to break the cycle of transmission of the virus.
He spoke as Akwa Ibom intercepted a corpse of COVID-19 victim from Lagos.
Vehicles carrying people in violation of the ban on interstate travels were intercepted in Abia, Cross River and Kwara States.
The Government, he said, was taken aback, by residents going about their businesses in the first five days after the ease of lockdown without complying with the public health guidelines despite massive advocacy.
He said: “As a Government elected to uphold security of its citizens, which include health security, we will not hesitate to review the terms of the easing of lockdown if we do not see an improvement in adherence to our public health guidelines in the next couple of days.
“We will be forced to take a painful decision of bringing the entire system under lockdown if we continue to see evidence that Lagosians are determined to flout the rules.
“As we eased restrictions on movement, we have increased our testing capacity and we are also actively increasing our isolation capacity. Members of the public will also see a change in our isolation strategy in the weeks ahead, as we transition towards decentralisation.
“What this means is that, we will be introducing community management of cases, by accrediting and incorporating primary healthcare facilities and private healthcare facilities for the management of mild-to-moderate cases of COVID-19 patients. However, we will guide this initiative carefully to ensure that it is not done at the expense of the capacity required to handle other medical cases.”
Sanwo-Olu directed the police to confiscate any commercial motorcycle seen flouting his directive that they should not operate in any part of the state for now.
The Governor also instructed security personnel to turn back all pedestrians trekking to Lagos from boundary highways.
The Governor said the task of ridding the State of the ravaging virus must be a collective responsibility and not a task for the Government alone. He advised residents to adhere strictly to the health measures initiated by the Government, stressing that the use of face mask was made compulsory to protect unaffected population from the virus.
Akwa Ibom intercepts corpse of COVID-19 victim from Lagos
The Akwa Ibom State government has intercepted the corpse of a COVID-19 victim suspected to have been smuggled into the state from Lagos State.
It has since buried the corpse in accordance with the Covid-19 regulations. Health Commissioner Dominic Ukpong said in Uyo that six persons who transported the corpse were quarantined pending the outcome of their test for COVID-19.
He maintained that the deceased was transported in an ambulance from Lagos State on the night of Wednesday 6th May, 2020 and arrived Akwa Ibom State borders in the early hours of Thursday.
“But for the alertness of the police officers posted to our borders, the corpse would have successfully made it to its destination in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area,” he said.
The Commissioner was alarmed that Six (6) men bearing a corpse made it past other State borders without being intercepted.
Abia COVID-19 team intercepts cement truck smuggling human beings
The Abia State COVID-19 Task Force also intercepted and impounded an articulated truck for allegedly smuggling some people into the state.
The truck was intercepted on Aba road, Umuahia, the state capital for disobeying the COVID-19 border lockdown rules.
The truck driver and the human passengers were taken to the Umuahia North local government headquarters where other defaulters were kept to face the COVID-19 Mobile Court.
The truck driver who gave his name as Isah Amodu, said he was on his way to Nasarawa State from Awka Ibom. He claimed ignorance of any lockdown in the state.
Cross River taskforce intercepts, sends back trucks carrying almajiri
Officials of the Cross River State government and security operatives yesterday intercepted another set of trucks carrying no fewer than 30 Qur’anic education pupils “Almajiri” at the Gakem-Benue border in the state.
They were immediately sent back in the same trucks to where they were coming from.
The Chairperson of the state COVID-19 Taskforce, Betta Edu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Calabar that the trucks were intercepted by the Youths and Skills Acquisitions Commissioner Signor Idiege and a team of security operatives on enforcing the “No Entry” directive of the government at the border.
She said Mr Idiege also sent an escort to move with the trucks to ensure that they did not divert through any other route to the state.
“It is important for the Federal Government to support these people where they are rather than allow them move from one part of the country to the other.
“Remember COVID-19 does not move but people move, so, if these people are coming from states that have the virus, of course, for us in Cross River, we do not want them here.
“That is the only way we can reduce the number that is building every day and contain the virus,” she said.
The Cross River border taskforce had earlier on Wednesday evening intercepted and sent back five trucks with goods and almajiri at the same Gakem-Benue border.
Police intercept 200 Almajiris in Kwara
The Kwara State police command yesterday intercepted a lorry loaded with about 200 suspected Almajiris around Kanbi/Oloru/Bode-Sadu axis of Moro local government area of the state.
The lorry with registration number Kaduna MKA 54 XL and driven by one Shehu Hashim of Manigi in Niger State, was said to be conveying the ‘passengers’ from Funtua in Katsina State.
Spokesperson for the state police command Ajayi Okasanmi said “the lorry and the 200 Almajiri youths were escorted by fully armed policemen to the border of Niger and Kwara States from where they will return to Katsina State they claimed they came from.
“The command wishes to use this opportunity to solicit the cooperation of inhabitants of border communities in the state to always volunteer information on movements of vehicles/people on illegal routes traversing their communities.”
We’re waiting test result of woman brought in dead in Abeokuta-OGSG
The Ogun State Government said on Saturday that specimens had been taken from the corpse of a woman found within the Public Health Centre (PHC) located at the Abeokuta Central Business District (CBD), Okelewo, for Coronavirus test.
It said the test result was being awaited while the PHC had also been decontaminated.
The remains of a woman were sighted being pushed on the floor at the PHC on Friday raising concern about the cause of her death.
Her death was recorded camera circulated on social media.
This came less than a week after a similar incident happened in Abeokuta, where an unknown driver dumped the corpse of a Beniose by the roadside near the GTB area near Oke Ilewo, Abeokuta, and sped away, leaving the deceased and the travel partner helpless.
But responding to the latest case, The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, told The Nation that she was briefed about the incident and so, the ministry elected to respond to the matter and put the record.
Coker said the corpse was brought in dead (BID) and that it was while it was being pushed on the floor that someone captured it on Camera.
She noted that the husband of the deceased was also tested for Coronavirus, explaining that both results were being awaited.
Why COVID-19 is assuming community transmission— Public health experts
The Parasitology and Public Health Society of Nigeria(PPSN) has expressed concern that poor adherent to safety measures is encouraging community transmission of the Coronavirus pandemic within the country.
The group also said there is need for more action to be taken in enlightening and educating rural dwellers on strict observance of personal hygiene.
Addressing journalists in Owerri, the Imo State capital, national president of PPSN, Prof. Chinyere N. Ukaga lamented that most Nigerians must were yet to acknowledge the fact that COVID-19 can also be transmitted through surface contact.
She said, “When droplets from infected persons fall on surfaces such as table tops, chair arms, door knobs and others, the virus can remain viable in these droplets for a few days. When these surfaces come into contact with human hands they can be picked up and transferred to either the nose or eyes or mouth when the person rubs his eyes or nose or puts the unwashed hands in the mouth.
“This is the main reason to wash hands frequently and why infected persons are quarantined or confined to an isolated place. This is also the reason why individuals who have been in close contact with sick persons are sought out and quarantined.” (The Nation)
