The Presidential Task Force Chairman on Coronavirus, has stated that further recommendations would be submitted to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in the next 72 hours after an assessment report on the eased lockdown.
He said, “Within the next 72 hours, the PTF will conclude its assessment on the impact of the measures put in place and further recommendations would be submitted to the President for a decision.”
PTF calls for attitudinal change
Mustapha stated that task force had continued to stress the need for a drastic change in lifestyle and behaviour because COVID-19 was long term and that the cure was not readily available.
He stated, “This advisory is based on the fact that the battle is long term and the cure is still in the distant future, nearest being towards the end of 2021. We continue to urge our citizens to follow these advisories diligently.”
He said that the PTF had not shortlisted three drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 as reported in the media.
He said, “For the avoidance of doubts, neither the PTF nor the Federal Ministry of Health has shortlisted any remedies. This can only be done after diligent processes and as may be advised by the relevant agencies.”
The PTF National Coordinator, Dr Sani Aliyu, said the task force would be focusing on greater community mobilisation by engaging over 800,000 volunteers.
Aliyu stated, “This strategy involves an aggressive campaign to ensure everyone in the community is armed with the information they need to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to protect themselves.
“It will empower communities to self-mobilise within their interest groups and collectively practise and enforce prevention measures.”
Aliyu said the campaign would cut across communities in the 774 local government areas at the grassroots by engaging partners such as the National Orientation Agency, the Nigerian Red Cross Society, the United Nations Children Education Fund, Jamaatu Nasrul Islam, National Council for Women Societies, Yar’Adua Foundation, Nigerian Interfaith Action Association, the UN system and many more.
At the press conference, the NCDC director general said there were organisations selling “antibody tests.”
He said, “It’s important to understand what an antibody test is. When an antibody test works, it only tells you if you have been exposed and infected. It doesn’t tell you if you have an active infection or not. Therefore, on its own, it is very difficult to use it to make a clinical decision.
“So, I would really encourage everyone, as we begin to plan to go back to work, whether you are an employee and an employer, to really focus on prevention.”
According to him, testing one’s workforce with the methods that are available will only show if one has the virus at present.
He stated, “It won’t tell you if you’ve had it before or if you will have it in the future. So, even if he is positive, it tells you, ‘Yes, he’s infected now.’ But if it is negative, it gives you a false sense of security around his susceptibility to future infections.
“So, it’s important that, as we open our industries and services, we really think about the measures we’ve continued to advise everyone to carry out and leave testing for the purpose for which it is there.
“There’s a growing black market on rapid diagnostic test kits in Nigeria. We have to be careful in what we buy, how we use it and how we interpret the results that it provides,” he said.
He also said the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, and his Jigawa State counterpart, Mohammed Abubakar, requested COVID-19 test laboratories in their states.
Comments are closed.