The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has warned that the country cannot afford to relax measures being pursued to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
Director General of the centre, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, who spoke in Abuja at the media briefing by the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, said the country ought to remain focused on implementing key response actions to arrest the spread and damage of the dreaded virus.
Ihekweazu said: “I recognise how difficult things are at the moment, many families I know have not been able to bury their dead, some have rescheduled their marriages, rescheduled their baptisms and have rescheduled everything they are doing. So, it is like life is suspended because we have suspended many things that we hold dear.
Everyone on this side of the table recognises the great sacrifices being made by Nigerians but we only have to encourage each other to continue till we get to the position where we think we can relax. To get to that point we must continue doing what we are doing now,” he said.
Ihekweazu said that among those who are most vulnerable to the COVID-19 infection at the moment are the elderly and those with underlying illnesses, adding that this segment of Nigerians deserves to be assisted and protected.
I
urge you to protect yourselves as prescribed and use the PPE judiciously. Do not attempt to treat COVID-19 patients without using adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), or if your institution is not accredited to do so. This is important because we need to keep health workers safe at this time and cannot afford the numbers testing positive to COVID-19.
Remain vigilant in the line of duty and maintain a high index of suspicion for COVID-19,” he said.