Nigeria

COVID-19: Easing lockdown was not a mistake - NCDC

Tuesday, May 05, 2020 at 1:32 PM by Kess Ewubare

- The director-general of the NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu, has said the easing of the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja was not a mistake

- Ihekweazu said the agency expects Nigerians to use common sense in limiting physical distancing

- The NCDC boss said corporate organisations are expected to take responsibility for crowd control on their premises

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The director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu, has said the easing of the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja was not a mistake.

Ihekweazu told TVC news on Tuesday, May 5, that the NCDC expects Nigerians to use common sense in limiting physical distancing, The Cable reports.

COVID-19: Easing lockdown was not a mistake - NCDC — Ihekweazu said the NCDC expects Nigerians to use common sense on limiting physical distancing. Photo credits: Kanyi Daily
Source: UGC

He said corporate organisations were expected to take responsibility for crowd control on their premises.

“On our side, we don’t think it was a mistake. We knew at some point this day had to come, but we really expected Nigerians and corporate Nigeria to take a little bit more responsibility for what happened yesterday," he said.

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Ihekweazu made the statement after photos and videos which surfaced on social media showed Nigerians flouting the guidelines issued for the lockdown relaxation.

Meanwhile, the federal government has vowed to lockdown parts of the country again should there be a spike in coronavirus cases.

This was revealed during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Monday, May 4.

Speaking at the briefing, the director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, lamented that many banks flouted the NCDC’s guideline for social distancing, infection prevention and control.

He said although the NCDC expected some lapses in compliance with safety precautions, it was worried by the widespread disobedience to the guidelines by corporate organisations.

In another report, the federal government has told the medical facilities in the country to stop rejecting patients, especially emergency cases.

Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health, said this on Monday, May 4, in Abuja during the presidential task force briefing on Covid-19 in the country.