Governor Sanwo-Olu said this while addressing newsmen at the State House in Alausa, Ikeja, disclosing that allocation of the fifth batch of AstraZeneca vaccine was still being expected and would be communicated when received hopefully by end of August.
Sanwo-Olu, who declared that the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic was already in Lagos, averred that from the beginning of July the state had started to experience an increase in the number of daily confirmed cases of the virus, with the positivity rate going from 1.1 per cent at the end of June 2021 to 7 per cent at the end of July 2021.
According to him, the positivity rate in Lagos is 8.9 per cent as of the 1st of August 2021, saying this was an 8-fold increase over the recorded figure a month ago, and should rightly alarm everyone as it had resulted in 4,300 confirmed cases in July alone and 352 admissions into the state’s various isolation facilities.
He, however, counselled that this necessary sense of alarm should not be responded to with panic, but instead with a firm resolve and determination to reverse the trend, recalling that the state had done it before during the first and second waves and could do it again.
“But let me make it clear that this necessary sense of alarm should not be responded to with panic, but instead with a firm resolve and determination to reverse the trend.
“We have done it before and we can do it again. We dealt with the first and second waves and did our best to prevent a third wave. Now that it is fully upon us, we must dig deep into what we have learnt from the previous waves, as well as summon the will to do everything necessary to bring down the numbers, on the way to eventually defeating the virus once and for all,” the governor said.
“Epidemiology update from the beginning of the outbreak in February 2020 to date, Lagos State has recorded a total of 64,032 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of this number, 56,336 have recovered in the community, 2,755 are currently being managed actively in the community. Over the course of managing the COVID-19 pandemic, about 5,029 patients have been admitted into our various COVID-19 care centres in Lagos.
“We have, sadly, recorded 390 fatalities in Lagos State, 30 of which have taken place in this current 3rd wave of the pandemic. Essentially, we have recorded on average 6 deaths per day since last week,” he added.
Sanwo-Olu, while speaking on the measures being taken to address the rising wave, disclosed that it became necessary for the state government to deploy telemedicine in managing positive patients, adding that the initiative is “a home-based program, driven by our EKOTELEMED call centre service” which works by delivering care packs to symptomatic Covid-19 patients in their various homes.
According to him, these are people who do not require admission in a treatment facility and in the comfort of their homes, while specialist care is made available to them over the phone, saying that the state encouraged those who are aware they have any symptoms associated with COVID-19 or have tested positive for the virus, to take advantage of this service by reaching out to EKOTELEMED on the state toll-free number 08000EKOMED (08000356633).
Besides, Governor Sanwo-Olu, while urging that the rules and guidelines to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 were still in force, urging the citizens to adhere to them, said the state government would continue to focus on six monitoring and tracking inbound travellers and cases in the community to manage the third wave of the pandemic.
This was just as he vowed that the state government would also not hesitate to impose sanctions and penalties on all those caught violating the rules regarding the need for passengers from red-listed countries, including India, South Africa, Brazil and Turkey to observe mandatory isolation as dictated by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID19 (PSC).
Sanwo-Olu, while listing the various sanctions, foreigners caught violating the protocols would face revocation of their Permanent Residency and deportation, while Nigerians found in a similar situation would face prosecution to the full extent of the Federal Government and Lagos State COVID-19 laws.
“And for non-travellers who are diagnosed positive, isolation is still mandatory. Anyone caught breaching the isolation protocols will be subject to a host of sanctions and penalties, which we have deployed in the past and remain ready to deploy at any time if required.
“These include fines and possible prosecution under our public health laws. It is also very useful to mention at this juncture that only state-accredited medical facilities can manage COVID-19 cases. There have been reports of non-accredited facilities taking in 8 patients – please be reminded that this is illegal, and any unaccredited medical facilities caught taking in Covid patients would be immediately shut down and penalized,” the governor stated.
“To manage the 3rd wave of the pandemic, EKOTELEMED will continue to focus on 6 monitoring and tracking inbound travellers and cases in the community.
“We will also not hesitate to impose sanctions and penalties on all those caught violating the rules. Sanctions Against Quarantine Defaulters As dictated by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID19 (PSC), passengers from red-listed countries (India, South Africa, Brazil and Turkey) are required to observe mandatory isolation.
“So far, we have successfully isolated 5,178 passengers in Lagos State. Of this number, 15 per cent have absconded. Following the publication of the names of absconders by the PSC, compliance with the mandatory isolation protocols increased significantly.
“However, several travellers from red-list countries have refused to isolate and/or have absconded. This is reprehensible behaviour and has shown that these individuals are particularly reckless with no compassion for their fellow citizens who may be medically vulnerable,” the governor said.
“We are now generating a new absconders list, which will be sent to the Presidential Steering Committee and the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, who has indicated that the following sanctions will be applied to absconders,” he added.
Speaking further, Governor Sanwo-Olu reiterated that the mandatory wearing of face masks and physical distancing in public places, regular hand washing, and avoidance of all non-essential movement, which he termed: “non-pharmaceutical interventions” must continue to be taken seriously.
The governor posited that findings showed that wearing of face masks helped in slowing down the spread of the virus, particularly the now more dominant strains, calling on all establishments, offices, entertainment spots, commercial spaces, and religious houses to provide handwashing or sanitising facilities and to ensure that no persons were admitted without the use of face masks.
“Proprietors of Public transport services must also refrain from admitting noncomplying passengers into their vehicles. It is only by strictly adhering to these rules that we can stand a chance of taming this virus.
“The third wave is already here with us, as much as we would have wished for a more positive outcome. We do not have a choice other than to tackle it. We are no longer inexperienced, as a people, in dealing with the coronavirus.
“Eighteen months into the pandemic, we have learnt a lot, we have seen progress and setbacks, we have been able to finetune our strategies and response, and we are now in a good place to ensure that this third wave is the final one.
“I believe that we can close this pandemic chapter very soon. But we must put in the work, the compliance, the regard for rules and restriction,” Sanwo-Olu admonished.
