COVID-19: Eased Lockdown Was Extended So Nigerians Can Prepare For New Life - PTF

The Presidential Task Force, PTF, on COVID-19 Tuesday explained that the extension of the gradual easing of the lockdown was to provide Nigerians an opportunity to start adjusting to the new life with COVID-19.

This was as the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, said educated and ‘well-to-do’ Nigerians constitute many of the fatalities from COVID-19 in Nigeria because many of them opted for home treatment and reported late to care centres.

AllNews recalls that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, had on Monday announced an extension of the lockdown relaxation for another two weeks.

Speaking at the task force daily briefing in Abuja, PTF National Coordinator, Dr Sani Aliyu explained why the eased lockdown was extended, and called for cooperation to ensure proper management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As you are all aware, we have extended the conditions we placed in phase one. We’re now going into a two-week extension of the gradual easing of the lockdown.

“The purpose of the extension is to provide the public with a window of opportunity to start adjusting, to start preparing for the new life with COVID infection.

“We are in for the long haul. This pandemic is not going to end in the next few days or few weeks; it’s going to be with us for a little longer.

“Therefore the earlier we start putting in place measures to adjust our lives and our behaviours, the faster we will be able to get back to normal.

“We also extended the conditions for the gradual easing to prepare and make sure that we continue to slow down the pandemic so that we do not have a rebound,” he stated. 

Aliyu said the existing guidelines for easing of the lockdown will largely remain the same for the two-week extension, while the main changes will focus on enforcement by security operatives, courts, banks, shopping malls, offices, restaurants and markets.

Ehanire, while also speaking at the daily PTF on COVID-19 briefing, said, “A disturbing picture emerging from statistics is that not only are most fatalities observed to be linked with preexisting diseases, many are educated, well-to-do people, who chose home-based care, where they develop sudden complication and have to be rushed to hospital".