President Muhammadu Buhari has approved additional N8.9bn for COVID-19 hazard allowance to all medical health workers.
This follows the industrial action embarked on by resident doctors and other health workers union in the country.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, said this on Thursday in Abuja at the 64th joint national briefing of the task force.
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The briefing was also attended by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
He noted that, over the past one week, a lot discussions in the public space has happened around the strike action by doctors and threats by other unions in the health sector.
According to him, while appreciable progress had been made in the negotiations to resolve the issues, it must be understood that the nation is in a global public health emergency situation that has impacted negatively on all aspects of lives, including the economy and finances of government.
“This has made it imperative for all citizens irrespective of their professions and particularly health workers to re-awaken their sense of humanity and patriotism.
“The health and survival of our dear nation is important and we should eschew any action that will diminish the gains made in the containment of the pandemic so far.
“I am pleased to announce that Mr. President has graciously approved additional N8.9bn for COVID-19 hazard allowance to all medical health workers.
“In addition, the procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for hospitals and isolation centres will be given priority,” Mustapha said.
– Inbound travellers must test negative for COVID-19 at ports of departure –
He also noted that, as part of the efforts to restart the economy, Nigeria reopened the international airspace on 5th September, with flights allowed into Lagos and Abuja for now, while other International Airports will follow in due course.
The SGF added that the PTF had also released the guidelines and protocols regarding the international flights, the obligations of airlines, the pre-boarding conditions and post-boarding choices available to passengers regarding arrangements and facilities for testing.
He said: “Travelers are to visit the Nigeria International Travel Portal- www.nitp.ncdc.gov.ng to register before embarking on any international travels in and out of Nigeria.
“I wish to reiterate that all travelers arriving in Nigeria must have tested negative for COVID-19 by PCR in country of departure pre-boarding and the PCR test must be done within 72-96 hours before departure.”
Mustapha said that it is also important to note that passengers are required to remain in self-isolation post-arrival and should undergo a mandatory COVID-19 test in a designated private laboratory by the seventh day after arrival.
He also said that the PTF is aware of and working with partners to speedily resolve the teething challenges faced by intending travellers in accessing the portal, the costs of the test on arrival, inability to complete payment online and consequential inability to board.
He, therefore, apologised to everyone that had experienced these challenges using the platform and assured all Nigerians and visitors to Nigeria that the PTF is working across multi-layer stakeholder platforms to ease the bottlenecks.
He said that the federal government is partnering with the private sector to facilitate the process of testing a week after arrival in a seamless manner.
This, Mustapha said, is driven largely by deployment of technology; freedom to pick a certified private laboratory of choice; and delivering the service at minimal cost to government.
Mustapha said that, as part of the efforts to promote community engagement, the PTF met with the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Polio and Primary Health Care to discuss on how to control community spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
He said that the royal fathers pledged their commitment and continued support as custodians of the rich history and cultures of the peoples.
We are working on replicating this dialogue around the country.
He added that the PTF briefed the National Food Security Council on the impact of COVID-19 on agriculture and the food value chain.
