The Principal Partner Kayode Ajulo & Co. Castle of Law and
Chairman of the Board of Incorporated Trustees of Egalitarian
Mission for Africa, Kayode Ajulo, Ph.D., has said that the Federal
government and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control must
issue Negative Test Certificate before one can be granted
access to any public institution.
Dr. Ajulo made this statement stating that someone who is
infected with the deadly disease might not know but will still be
going about in public places and infesting those he comes in
contact with.
TheNigerialawyer recalls that Dr. Raymond Dokpesi was
declared positive for Coronavirus infection after few hours of seen
in public areas.
According to him in about few hours to the relaxation of the
Lockdown pursuant to the Presidential Address of April 27th, 2020,
the Presidential Taskforce on Covid-19, the Federal Capital
Territory Administration (FCTA) and various state governments have
issued various directives and guidelines for the resumption of
business in various premises of public institutions in the bid to
curtail the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that the Federal Government
might have been pressured to relax the lockdown in order to savour
the economy, however coming out of lockdown too soon could be
catastrophic and lead to an explosion of new coronavirus
cases.
“The key to easing the lockdown will be to work out changes that
are enough to open up society and restore the economy but not to
worsen the prevalent situation.
“While it is important to commend the Federal Government and
the NCDC for the proactive steps taken to ensure adequate testing,
with the daily increase in the reported cases, it is still unclear
how many people have actually been infected with COVID-19. A few
days ago, there are reports that the Lagos State government has run
out of testing kits and patients have to be taken to nearby Ogun
State for testing.
“While relaxing the lockdown for people to resume business as
usual, it is not without a grimace of relief, yet if people who do
not know they are infected return to work, they risk infecting
countless others and wiping out all the progress that has been
made. There is need to speed up coronavirus testing and government
should provide personal protective equipment before people can
safely go back to work. As at the time of writing, the number of
tests that have conducted by the NCDC is below 13,000.
“It is pertinent to recall that sometime last week, Wednesday, the
29th day of April, 2019, as a Counsel representing two
appellants/convicts in two criminal appeals to ensure the setting
aside of their convictions and their eventual release, I was in a
premises of public institutions for the conduct of my assignment
and in the premises, I sighted a renowned personality and who also
double as my friend, mingling with others, who was later confirmed
to have tested positive to the virus few days later.
“One could only imagine how many lives would have been exposed
to the virus. There is no gainsaying the herculean task that would
ensue in tracing contacts of persons who have been to such premises
of public institutions for the past five days before the case was
confirmed.
“It has been estimated that about 30% of people who contract the
virus will not show symptoms, thus the use of temperature check may
not prove effective in confirming the status of people who are
granted access to premises of public institutions. Hence, the
imperative for the Federal Government to take proactive steps in
ensuring that before access is granted to premises of public
institutions, everyone must present a ‘Negative Test
Certificate’.
“It suffices to point attention to the migration of some persons
from some states to the Federal Capital Territory despite the
invocation of interstate lockdown. I watch with dismay, a video of
some persons being conveyed with the aid of long buses and trailers
to the FCT.
“This is no doubt a fallout of inducement of law enforcement
agents to gain passes which will greatly spike the rate of the
spread of the pandemic if no check is put in place,” he said.
The Principal Partner Kayode Ajulo & Co. Castle of Law and
Chairman of the Board of Incorporated Trustees of Egalitarian
Mission for Africa, Kayode Ajulo, Ph.D., has said that the Federal
government and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control must
issue Negative Test Certificate before one can be granted
access to any public institution.
Dr. Ajulo made this statement stating that someone who is
infected with the deadly disease might not know but will still be
going about in public places and infesting those he comes in
contact with.
TheNigerialawyer recalls that Dr. Raymond Dokpesi was
declared positive for Coronavirus infection after few hours of seen
in public areas.
According to him in about few hours to the relaxation of the
Lockdown pursuant to the Presidential Address of April 27th, 2020,
the Presidential Taskforce on Covid-19, the Federal Capital
Territory Administration (FCTA) and various state governments have
issued various directives and guidelines for the resumption of
business in various premises of public institutions in the bid to
curtail the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that the Federal Government
might have been pressured to relax the lockdown in order to savour
the economy, however coming out of lockdown too soon could be
catastrophic and lead to an explosion of new coronavirus
cases.
“The key to easing the lockdown will be to work out changes that
are enough to open up society and restore the economy but not to
worsen the prevalent situation.
“While it is important to commend the Federal Government and
the NCDC for the proactive steps taken to ensure adequate testing,
with the daily increase in the reported cases, it is still unclear
how many people have actually been infected with COVID-19. A few
days ago, there are reports that the Lagos State government has run
out of testing kits and patients have to be taken to nearby Ogun
State for testing.
“While relaxing the lockdown for people to resume business as
usual, it is not without a grimace of relief, yet if people who do
not know they are infected return to work, they risk infecting
countless others and wiping out all the progress that has been
made. There is need to speed up coronavirus testing and government
should provide personal protective equipment before people can
safely go back to work. As at the time of writing, the number of
tests that have conducted by the NCDC is below 13,000.
“It is pertinent to recall that sometime last week, Wednesday, the
29th day of April, 2019, as a Counsel representing two
appellants/convicts in two criminal appeals to ensure the setting
aside of their convictions and their eventual release, I was in a
premises of public institutions for the conduct of my assignment
and in the premises, I sighted a renowned personality and who also
double as my friend, mingling with others, who was later confirmed
to have tested positive to the virus few days later.
“One could only imagine how many lives would have been exposed
to the virus. There is no gainsaying the herculean task that would
ensue in tracing contacts of persons who have been to such premises
of public institutions for the past five days before the case was
confirmed.
“It has been estimated that about 30% of people who contract the
virus will not show symptoms, thus the use of temperature check may
not prove effective in confirming the status of people who are
granted access to premises of public institutions. Hence, the
imperative for the Federal Government to take proactive steps in
ensuring that before access is granted to premises of public
institutions, everyone must present a ‘Negative Test
Certificate’.
“It suffices to point attention to the migration of some persons
from some states to the Federal Capital Territory despite the
invocation of interstate lockdown. I watch with dismay, a video of
some persons being conveyed with the aid of long buses and trailers
to the FCT.
“This is no doubt a fallout of inducement of law enforcement
agents to gain passes which will greatly spike the rate of the
spread of the pandemic if no check is put in place,” he said.