The Federal Government has banned interstate movement effective Monday, May 4 , as part of new measures to fight the dreaded Coronavirus pandemic, Muhammadu Buhari announced Monday.
He also approved a phased and gradual easing of the lockdown measures in FCT, Lagos and Ogun States effective from Monday May 4,2020 at 9am.
In a nationwide broadcast to assess measures deployed so far in the efforts to contain the pandemic and chart the way forward, the president said the virus had affected 1, 273 people in Nigeria, caused 40 deaths, while 239 people had been discharged from treatment centres.
He said new rules that will be implanted going forward include selected businesses and offices opening from 9am to 6pm, while there will be an overnight curfew from 8pm to 6am. According to the President, all movements will be prohibited during this period except essential services. He also said there will be a ban on non-essential inter-state passenger travels until further notice.
President Buhari said the measures were in line with the recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the various Federal Government committees that have reviewed socio-economic matters and the Nigeria Governors Forum.
Elaborating further, the president said partial and controlled interstate movement of goods and services will be allowed for the movement of goods and services from producers to consumers. Government will also sure “strictly ensure the mandatory use of face masks or coverings in public in addition to maintaining physical distancing and personal hygiene,” he said.
President Buhari noted however that these revised guidelines do will not apply for to Kano State. According to hi, the total lockdown recently announced by the State Government shall remain enforced be enforced for the full duration.
He promised that the Federal Government shall deploy all the necessary human, material and technical resources to support the State in controlling and containing the pandemic.
Kano has witnessed a surge in the number of deaths, with the State government making efforts to ascertain the cause of what appear to be mysterious deaths, including those of high-profile individuals.
He announced that the federal government had decided to deploy additional human, material and technical resources to strengthen and support Kano State Government’s efforts, promising that the implementation of that would commence immediately.
Furthermore, he said that the restrictions on social and religious gatherings shall remain in place. He pleaded with state governments, corporate organisations and philanthropists are encouraged to support the production of cloth masks for citizens.
He however, said this will be followed strictly with aggressive reinforcement of testing and contact tracing measures while allowing the restoration of some economic and business activities in certain sectors.
“Our goal was to develop implementable policies that will ensure our economy continues to function, while still maintaining our aggressive response to the COVID- 19 pandemic. These same difficult decisions are being faced by leaders around the world. “, the president said.
President Buhari commended Nigerians for the resilience and patriotism they have shown in their collective fight against the biggest health challenge of our generation.
He noted that a Sunday, 26th April 2020, some three million confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been recorded globally, with about nine hundred thousand recoveries. Unfortunately, some two hundred thousand people have also died as a result of this pandemic he said.
The President noted the steep rise in the number of cases of the infection Nigeria. According to him, two weeks earlier, there were 323 confirmed cases in 20 States and the Federal Capital Territory.
“As at this morning, Nigeria has recorded one thousand two hundred and seventy-three cases across 32 States and the FCT. Unfortunately, these cases include 40 deaths,” he said.
He expressed he government’s and Nigerian’s deepest condolences to the families of all Nigerians that have lost their lives loved ones as a result of the pandemic, describing such deaths as “our collective loss and we share in your grief”.
Despite the increase in the number of infections in the country in the past two weeks, President Buhari said the current number in Nigeria falls short of the 2000 predicted for the first month after the index case, by initials models.
“This means that despite the drastic increase in the number of confirmed cases recorded in the past two weeks, the measures we have put in place thus far have yielded positive outcomes against the projections,” he said.
The president also noted the progress being made to raise Nigeria’s capacity to test for the Coronavirus, disclosing that the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has accredited 15 laboratories across the country with an aggregate capacity to undertake 2,500 tests per day across the country.
Similarly, he said that Lagos the State Government and the FCT with support from NCDC is have established several sample collection centers in Lagos and the FCT. They are also reviewing their laboratory testing strategy to further increase the number of tests they can perform including the accreditation of selected private laboratories that meet the accreditation criteria.
The president said Nigeria has trained over 10,000, and disclosed that the government had signed a memorandum of understanding on the provision of hazard allowances and other incentives with key health sector professional associations. In addition, he announced that the government had also procured insurance cover for five thousand frontline health workers.
Buhari thanked various groups, organisations and individuals who have supported the country’s fight against the pandemic.
On the efforts to ensure that the economy re-starts after disruptions, Buhari said he had directed the Central Bank of Nigeria and other financial institutions to make further plans and provisions for financial stimulus packages for small- and medium scale enterprises, adding: “We recognise the critical role that they play in Nigeria’s economy”.
Anthony Ailemen, Innocent Odoh, Harrison Edeh, James Kwen, Cynthia Egboboh, Abuja
