The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has recommended to
President Muhammadu Buhari to allow states to decide on the
reopening of schools, businesses and worship centres shut since
March as part of the efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The recommendation was among a raft of others, the PTF made to
the president at a meeting yesterday at the State House ahead of
his decision today on the next phase of action to take as the
two-week extension of the easing of restrictions on socio-economic
activities, which expires today.
The president had on May 18, extended the easing of the lockdown
on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun States as
well as extending the 8 pm-6 am curfew imposed nationwide, the ban
on interstate movements and the lockdown of Kano State.
However, the incidence of the pandemic has been on the rise as
the virus infected 307 more people yesterday, bringing the total
figure of confirmed cases to 10,162 with 3,007 persons discharged
and 287 people dead.
The 307 new cases were reported from 15 states, including Lagos
188, FCT 44, Ogun 19, Kaduna 14, Oyo 12, Bayelsa nine, Gombe five,
and Kano, three.
Delta, Imo, Rivers, Niger and Bauchi had two each, while Plateau
and Kwara had one apiece.
The meeting of the PTF with the president was a sequel to the
expiration of the extension of the easing of the lockdown, which
commenced on May 18, by the federal government.
Already, there is anxiety on the next line of action of the
president and its economic implications as the representatives of
the Organised Private Sector (OPS) have called on the federal and
state governments to direct a total relaxation of the lockdown to
avert looming retrenchment of workers.
But the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and the Pharmaceutical
Society of Nigeria (PSN) called for an extension of the nationwide
lockdown and stricter implementation of measures in place to curb
community spread of COVID-19.
Speaking with State House reporters after the meeting, PTF
Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF),
Mr. Boss Mustapha, said the task force, which met with the
president to submit its fourth interim report to him on the
successes and challenges recorded by the group in the last two
weeks, would await the decisions of the president on its
recommendations.
With the two-week extension which expire today, a fresh
pronouncement by the president on the way forward must be made
today.
The president is expected to unveil fresh guidelines on the way
forward following the update he had received from the PTF.
Mustapha, however, said the issues bordering on re-opening of
businesses, worship centres and schools, would be pushed to state
and local governments, if the president approves their
recommendations.
He was swift to add that the final decision on that will,
however, be dependent on the expected presidential
pronouncement.
He said: “The communities are in the states. So, the ownership
of the next stage will be the responsibility of the states, the
local government, the traditional institutions, the religious
leaders at the different levels of our communities because that is
where the problem is.
“So, the issues of places of worships, the issues of schools,
the issues of some certain businesses that were not opened hitherto
are part of the packages that we have looked at and we’ve made the
appropriate recommendations. But you know that Mr.
President is the only one that can take decisions in respect of
that.”
Mustapha stated that the states, as a unit of the federation,
also have their own responsibilities.
He added that PTF had met with religious leaders and had reached
an agreement with them on guidelines to be observed in reopening
the worship centres.
“In the framework, the states are sub-nationals, they have their
own responsibilities too. So, it is in the exercise of those
responsibilities that they had meetings with those religious bodies
and agreed on the guidelines and protocols on how they open up. But
in the framework of the national response, we are taking that into
consideration,” he added.
He also said the task force briefed the president on the
challenges confronting the group, adding that Buhari assured
members that the country was behind them.
He said the president expressed appreciation to health workers who
are at the forefront of the battle to defeat the virus.
He stated that the meeting harped on the necessity to
continuously persuade Nigerians to observe the prescribed protocols
on how to stay safe.
“As far as the work of the PTF is concerned, he was upfront with
his commendation and assured us that the nation is fully behind us
in the work that he has charged us to do and that he’s also
appreciative of the work of the frontline workers, particularly the
medical personnel, the security personnel and the people who come
in contact with the patients in the time of collection of samples,
the testings, the care that they are giving,” he said.
Asked if Nigeria was winning the war against the virus, Mustapha
answered in the affirmative, saying with only three per cent
fatality rate while most countries grapple with over 10 per cent
fatality rate, Nigeria is winning the fight.
“We are winning. As a matter of fact, you juxtapose the rate of
cases with our fatality rate, which is basically about 3 per cent.
In other countries and other climes, it’s over 10 per cent, but the
most important thing that you will realise, when we started this
exercise, we had only five testing stations.
“Now, we’ve ramped it up to 28, without a correspondent increase
in the number of deaths. We’ve gone beyond 60,000 now, that
reflects in the number of confirmed cases,” he said.
He quoted experts as saying that 80 per cent of victims may not
know they have contracted the virus, adding that that accounts for
the reason some people in isolation centres query why they are
there.
According to him, one of the PTF’s challenges presented to the
president is the failures of some governors to cooperate with the
task force.
“We discussed challenges generally and I believe that in the
context of those discussions, certain steps will be taken.
“We are doing everything to ensure that the entire nation is on
the same page with one response and it is very important that we
realise that no state is an island unto itself when you deal with
public health matters,” he said.
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has recommended to
President Muhammadu Buhari to allow states to decide on the
reopening of schools, businesses and worship centres shut since
March as part of the efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The recommendation was among a raft of others, the PTF made to
the president at a meeting yesterday at the State House ahead of
his decision today on the next phase of action to take as the
two-week extension of the easing of restrictions on socio-economic
activities, which expires today.
The president had on May 18, extended the easing of the lockdown
on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun States as
well as extending the 8 pm-6 am curfew imposed nationwide, the ban
on interstate movements and the lockdown of Kano State.
However, the incidence of the pandemic has been on the rise as
the virus infected 307 more people yesterday, bringing the total
figure of confirmed cases to 10,162 with 3,007 persons discharged
and 287 people dead.
The 307 new cases were reported from 15 states, including Lagos
188, FCT 44, Ogun 19, Kaduna 14, Oyo 12, Bayelsa nine, Gombe five,
and Kano, three.
Delta, Imo, Rivers, Niger and Bauchi had two each, while Plateau
and Kwara had one apiece.
The meeting of the PTF with the president was a sequel to the
expiration of the extension of the easing of the lockdown, which
commenced on May 18, by the federal government.
Already, there is anxiety on the next line of action of the
president and its economic implications as the representatives of
the Organised Private Sector (OPS) have called on the federal and
state governments to direct a total relaxation of the lockdown to
avert looming retrenchment of workers.
But the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and the Pharmaceutical
Society of Nigeria (PSN) called for an extension of the nationwide
lockdown and stricter implementation of measures in place to curb
community spread of COVID-19.
Speaking with State House reporters after the meeting, PTF
Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF),
Mr. Boss Mustapha, said the task force, which met with the
president to submit its fourth interim report to him on the
successes and challenges recorded by the group in the last two
weeks, would await the decisions of the president on its
recommendations.
With the two-week extension which expire today, a fresh
pronouncement by the president on the way forward must be made
today.
The president is expected to unveil fresh guidelines on the way
forward following the update he had received from the PTF.
Mustapha, however, said the issues bordering on re-opening of
businesses, worship centres and schools, would be pushed to state
and local governments, if the president approves their
recommendations.
He was swift to add that the final decision on that will,
however, be dependent on the expected presidential
pronouncement.
He said: “The communities are in the states. So, the ownership
of the next stage will be the responsibility of the states, the
local government, the traditional institutions, the religious
leaders at the different levels of our communities because that is
where the problem is.
“So, the issues of places of worships, the issues of schools,
the issues of some certain businesses that were not opened hitherto
are part of the packages that we have looked at and we’ve made the
appropriate recommendations. But you know that Mr.
President is the only one that can take decisions in respect of
that.”
Mustapha stated that the states, as a unit of the federation,
also have their own responsibilities.
He added that PTF had met with religious leaders and had reached
an agreement with them on guidelines to be observed in reopening
the worship centres.
“In the framework, the states are sub-nationals, they have their
own responsibilities too. So, it is in the exercise of those
responsibilities that they had meetings with those religious bodies
and agreed on the guidelines and protocols on how they open up. But
in the framework of the national response, we are taking that into
consideration,” he added.
He also said the task force briefed the president on the
challenges confronting the group, adding that Buhari assured
members that the country was behind them.
He said the president expressed appreciation to health workers who
are at the forefront of the battle to defeat the virus.
He stated that the meeting harped on the necessity to
continuously persuade Nigerians to observe the prescribed protocols
on how to stay safe.
“As far as the work of the PTF is concerned, he was upfront with
his commendation and assured us that the nation is fully behind us
in the work that he has charged us to do and that he’s also
appreciative of the work of the frontline workers, particularly the
medical personnel, the security personnel and the people who come
in contact with the patients in the time of collection of samples,
the testings, the care that they are giving,” he said.
Asked if Nigeria was winning the war against the virus, Mustapha
answered in the affirmative, saying with only three per cent
fatality rate while most countries grapple with over 10 per cent
fatality rate, Nigeria is winning the fight.
“We are winning. As a matter of fact, you juxtapose the rate of
cases with our fatality rate, which is basically about 3 per cent.
In other countries and other climes, it’s over 10 per cent, but the
most important thing that you will realise, when we started this
exercise, we had only five testing stations.
“Now, we’ve ramped it up to 28, without a correspondent increase
in the number of deaths. We’ve gone beyond 60,000 now, that
reflects in the number of confirmed cases,” he said.
He quoted experts as saying that 80 per cent of victims may not
know they have contracted the virus, adding that that accounts for
the reason some people in isolation centres query why they are
there.
According to him, one of the PTF’s challenges presented to the
president is the failures of some governors to cooperate with the
task force.
“We discussed challenges generally and I believe that in the
context of those discussions, certain steps will be taken.
“We are doing everything to ensure that the entire nation is on
the same page with one response and it is very important that we
realise that no state is an island unto itself when you deal with
public health matters,” he said.