The Federal Government of Nigeria warns her citizens to brace up for tougher decisions to contain the pandemic as she records 36 cases and one death from Coronavirus, COVID-19.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this at a news conference on COVID-19 in Abuja,
He assured Nigerians that any decision that would be taken will be in their best interest.
According to the Minister, “one of the decisions that the Presidential Task Force on the Control of Coronavirus, might consider might be a partial shut down in order to enforce social distancing to contain the spread and keep Nigerians safe”.
He therefore appealed to Nigerians to continue to support the efforts of the government at all levels to defeat Coronavirus.
He said, “We are hoping for the best in our efforts to contain the disease, but we are prepared for the worst.
The truth is that things may yet get worse than they are now, hence the need for all hands to be on deck.
Tougher decisions may yet be on the way to contain this disease. But whatever decision is taken will be in the best interest of Nigerians,” he added
Furthermore, Mohammed revealed that the country now had a total of 36 cases and had recorded her first Coronavirus death, a 67-year-old man in Abuja with serious underlying diseases.
He said the presidential task force had directed that with immediate effect, all passengers on domestic flights were to be properly screened, just like it is done for international travellers.
“All federal schools are already shut down and the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, NUC, will be directed to close all universities, both public and private.
While Nigeria has refused to succumb to panic in tackling this disease, it has not wavered in its preparedness,” Mohammed said.
The Minister recalled that the government had taken a number of measures to contain the disease, including restrictions on travel from 15 countries that had recorded more than 1,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
He listed the countries as: China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Japan, France, Germany, the U.S., Norway, UK, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and Sweden.
According to him, government had suspended issuance of visas on arrival and had cancelled those issued to nationals of the countries.
Mohammed further recalled that the government had shutdown international airports in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt, and had reduced fuel price from N145 to N125 per litre following the outbreak.
Meanwhile, the Minister listed other relief measures to include the establishment of a credit facility by the CBN for households, small and medium enterprises, and reduction of interest rates for loans from nine per cent to five per cent.
And further said that the government had also granted credit relief of N1.1 trillion as announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to businesses affected by the pandemic.
