The federal government has extended the phase two of the ease of lockdown by another one week.
Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 cum Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, disclosed this during the briefing of the PTF on Monday.
The SGF noted that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the extension of phase two of the eased lockdown by another four weeks, which was due to expire on Wednesday.
He said: “You will recall that we briefed the nation on the 29th of June, 2020 sequel to the approval of Mr. President for the extension of phase two of the eased lockdown by another four weeks. That extension is due to expire on Wednesday 29th July 2020 having commenced on June 30th, 2020.
“The PTF has continued to evaluate the developments as well as the level of compliance nationwide and has regrettably come to the inevitable conclusion that majority of Nigerians irrespective of status, creed, and level of education continue to live in denial on the virulent nature of the virus and consistently breach the guidelines and non-pharmaceutical measures put in place.
“We informed you two weeks ago that the process of submitting the 6th Interim Report and recommendations for the next steps had commenced. The PTF has reached advanced stages of the process.
“It has also considered that due to the upcoming Sallah (Eid El-Kabir) festivities, which coincides with the expiration of the current phase, it would be prudent to extend by one week, from 29th July 2020 till Thursday 6th August 2020. It has accordingly secured permission to retain the existing guidelines until that date.”
According to the SGF, considering the importance of international air travel to the economy, the PTF and the Aviation Sector are working hard to fast track the reopening of the international airspace.
“Most importantly, the arrival protocols for passengers on inbound flights are being firmed up for seamless testing and detection. Relevant MDAs will be holding further consultations.
The COVID-19 remains very virulent and very dangerous. Current statistics show the following: Global Cases Recorded 16,380,397 cases from 215 countries; Global Deaths: 651,198; Global Recoveries: 10,093,403.
Africa recorded 848,771 cases, deaths 17,791 and recoveries put at 495,660. The number cases in Nigeria have risen to 40,532, with 858 deaths and 17,374 recoveries.
“WHO statistics show that on 24th July 2020 the world recorded 284,000 confirmed cases and 9,750 deaths. Both were records in terms of the spike in daily numbers and they represent a red flag to all nations.
“Our analysis has shown that people over 50 years of age especially those with underlying factors remain most at risk. This position is backed by the fact that 65% of fatalities recorded in Nigeria are in this category”, Mustapha added.