A coalition of 38 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have urged the Federal Government to urgently take decisive measures to curtail further spread of the COVID-19 in the country, saying the disregard to preventive measures by Nigerians is alarming.
The CSOs under the aegis of the COVID-19 Nigeria Security Support Group (NSSG), many Nigerians have abandoned the use of facemasks and physical distancing as preventive measures, hence the need for measures to change the narrative.
According to them, the upsurge in the cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria is alarming despite measures by the Government to contain its spread across the country.
“This is attributed to the nonchalant attitudes of some citizens towards obeying and complying with the guidelines stipulated by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). The relaxed enforcement of these guidelines by security agencies is one of the factors responsible for the increasing rates of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria.
“As at Tuesday, August 25th, 2020, the number of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria has risen to 52,548 according to updates from the NCDC. The number of those discharged is 39, 257 and 1004 deaths recorded. This development calls for concerted efforts both by the Government and citizens alike to play active roles and responsibilities to stop the spread of the virus.
“With our population and the current number of tests carried out, it is obvious that the real number of infections is under reported in Nigeria,” they said.
