Chikwe Ihekweazu.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has
predicted that January 2021 would be a tough month as the Nigerian
government renews its efforts in fighting the scourge of COVID-19
in the country.
NCDC Director-General, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, stated this on
Tuesday during a briefing by the Presidential Task Force on
COVID-19 in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
For Ihekweazu, Nigerians have refused to adhere to the COVID-19
protocols, causing the national response to pass through a
challenging phase.
“Unfortunately, January will be a tough month for all of us,”
the NCDC boss said. “Event centers are full; our treatment centers
are filling up. We are struggling to keep up, we are struggling to
find the facilities to manage, the oxygen to manage.
“Every night we are faced with phone calls of patients desperate
for care. It will be tough but we still have an opportunity
to do what we need to do by liaising with the executive governors
of states across the country to be more purposeful in implementing
the measures that we have agreed on collectively.
“We have seen some of them doing that. But many of the states in
the country haven’t and pretend as if there will be no
consequence.”
READ ALSO: PTF To Publish Names Of Returning
Passengers Who Ignored COVID-19 Test From January 1
Meanwhile, the Secretary to the Federal Government, Boss
Mustapha, has announced that effective from January the 1st, 2021,
the name of passengers who miss their post-arrival PCR Test would
be published in the national dailies.
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Mustapha said the passports of the first 100 passengers that
fail to take their test will be published in the national dailies
and be suspended till June 2021, as a deterrent.
“With effect from 1st January 2021 the passports of the first
100. passengers that failed to take their day seven post-arrival
PCR test will be published in the national dailies,” he said.
“The passports, as deterrence, will also be suspended till June
2021. At the beginning of my remarks, I underscored the issue of
oxygen availability as critical to the success of case
management.
“There is an on-going review of the chain for the supply of
medical oxygen for our medical facilities across the nation.
“While we work on immediate measures, we wish to express our
appreciation to Mr. Raj Gupta and Abuja Steel Mills for bridging
the gap in oxygen requirements in Abuja with at least 100 cylinders
of medical oxygen daily for the next three months, as part of the
contributions of CACOVID.”
Mustapha, who is also the PTF Chairman, asked the sub-nationals
to reopen all laboratories and begin scaling up testing, while
condemning delays in results and the inability of laboratories to
function optimally, in spite of available funds.
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2020/12/30/covid-19-ncdc-predicts-january-will-be-tough-for-nigeria/