The Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman, Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, says his team has continued to receive reports that coronavirus patients threaten lives of frontline health workers at isolation centres.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday at a briefing of the team, he said the health workers had suffered harassment from COVID-19 patients.
“The PTF has also continued to receive, rather sadly, reports about challenges facing the frontline health workers. They’ve received threat to lives, experienced detention by patients they’re actually nursing to health and suffered other forms of harassment.
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“It is, therefore, inhuman and unacceptable that patients engage in acts of locking them up and making demands that these frontline officers, most of the time, do not have the capacity to address.
“The PTF COVID-19 views such behaviour as reprehensible and should be deprecated. We call on all State governments to take this up appropriately,” Mustapha said.
While stressing the dangers inherent in lack of compliance with guidelines issued, he said President Muhammadu Buhari took a painful and difficult decision to ease the restrictions by approving revised measures that would maintain a balance between the safety of Nigerians.
He added that giving Nigerians the opportunity for some level of economic activities that would sustain their means of livelihood especially, the poor and vulnerable who depend on daily means of subsistence, should not become an excuse for the citizens to lead the lives they were used to, pre-COCID-19 days.
“I wish to re-iterate that the world today has completely changed from what we used to know and if we want to continue living the old ways, the cost would be enormous,” he warned.
The SGF said while contracting COVID-19 is not a death sentence, disregarding the guidelines for its avoidance, as guided by experts, is a costly self-voyage.
He said: “Unfortunately, such choices cannot be made by individuals, but the collective and we are all resolute in stamping this scourge out of Nigeria.
“One gratifying outcome of the assessment we have all undertaken as stakeholders is our convergence of thoughts on the level of compliance with the guidelines and how our individual and collective responses could improve and/or jeopardize our ability to contain the coronavirus.”
He said as of Monday, there were 21 laboratories nationwide including private laboratories and that the PTF would continue to engage with more private laboratories.
He also urged all the states to set up isolation centres, wards (including ICU) with a minimum of 300 beds each, to help accommodate levels one and two cases.
“However, with the increase in numbers, we’re beginning to experience a shortage of bed spaces in the isolation centres, especially in the high burden areas.
“We’re conscious of the need to take care of different categories of persons e.g. people living with disabilities, terminal conditions and other underlying factors/co-morbidities.
“We’ve also been able to complete the evacuation of two batches of Nigerians from the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America.
“We would continue working with our missions overseas and other relevant partners to ensure the evacuation of others with clearly defined rules of engagement.
“The PTF has continued to review the relevant policy and protocols so that our actions and decisions are most effective and the nation can properly take COVID-19 positive cases out of circulation to avoid the spread of the virus.
“We’ve recognized a significant role for community ownership, guidance, acceptance and implementation and the PTF will introduce appropriate inclusive policies in the coming weeks,” Mustapha said.
He also said the PTF was identifying and assessing all low to medium and high burden areas with a view to assessing and modifying their strategy.
He said: “This will involve drilling down from all tiers of government to community level.
“This mention serves as a notice to traditional religious and community leaders to brace up for deeper involvement as we develop the protocols to strengthen community ownership in the national response.”
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