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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has issued a public health advisory following a record increase in the number of coronavirus disease in the country warning people against unnecessary domestic and international travel.
“This public health advisory provides an update on the current situation, response activities and recommends measures to reduce the risk of spread in our country,’’ it stated in a statement to the media.
According to the statement signed by its director general, Chikwe Ihekweazu, there are just over 71,000 confirmed cases and 1,190 deaths reported across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) adding that since the beginning of September to the end of November 2020, Nigeria has recorded a gradual increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country.
It noted however that in the last week (30thof November to the 6thof December) ‘our surveillance system has recorded a sharp increase in cases. The average number of daily cases recorded in the last week was higher than what was recorded between September – November.’
Explaining that while the COVID-19 situation continues to differ across states, there has been an increase in the number of cases across 23 states in the country, majority (73%) of the cases detected were from Lagos, Kaduna and the Federal Capital Territory while eight of the 23 states with an increase in the number of cases, reported a record high number of weekly cases last week.
‘There has been an increase in the number of tests carried out nationwide in the last five weeks. It is important to note that in the last week, the proportion of people who have tested positive among those tested, increased from 3.9% to 6.0%when compared to the previous week.
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‘However, in the last week, there has been a decline in the rate of testing across 12 states. These are Sokoto, Kebbi,Niger, Yobe, Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Benue and Anambra.’
Promising to ‘continue to work with all states to scale up both demand for and access to COVID-19 testing,’ it explains that given the epidemiology of the virus, the increase in cross country travel, and poor testing rates, none of these states can report to have full control over the pandemic yet.
According to the statement, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, the Presidential Task Force(PTF) on COVID-19 which includes NCDC, as well as state governments have continued to scale up response activities. NCDC has supported all states in Nigeria to activate at least one public health laboratory for COVID-19 diagnosis maintaining that testing for public health purposes remains free of charge.
As part of the measures to reduce the risk of an increase in cases associated with international travel, the PTF-COVID-19, the DG said instituted measures that are enforced through a travel protocol. Through these measures, we have mitigated to some extent the impact of travel on the epidemic in Nigeria.
‘ However, the advice for now is to avoid non-essential travel altogether’ adding that it was no time to let our guard down advising all Nigerians to adhere to the important public health measure which includes limiting all non-essential domestic and international travel especially for intending travellers from countries recording a high number of COVID-19 cases.
‘If you must travel to Nigeria, please adhere to the seven-day isolation period and post-arrival test’ adding that people must always wear a face mask that covers their nose and mouth when in public settings, such as marketplace, office, schools, religious settings.
‘Maintain physical distance of at least 2 metres from others in public settings, wash your hands frequently with soap and water or use a hand sanitizer when hands are not visibly dirty and running water is not readily available and avoid direct contact with people such as hugging and handshaking,’ the statement said.
‘Cover your mouth and nose properly with a tissue paper, or your elbow when sneezing and/or coughing. Dispose of the tissue properly immediately after use and wash your hands as well as avoiding close contact with anyone showing symptoms of a respiratory illness.
‘Stay at home if you feel unwell and call your state helpline. Do not mingle with others if you have symptoms such as fever, cough or sudden loss of sense of taste or smell.’
‘Public settings including religious settings, businesses, markets should ensure adherence to public health and safety measures while vulnerable groups are people who are 60 and above and/or people with pre-existing medical conditions .’
