The Federal Government has said that it will end normal evacuation flights of Nigerians abroad on 22nd August 2020 after which the nation’s airports will be given sufficient time to prepare for reopening.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, said this on Monday in Abuja at the 58th joint national briefing of the taskforce.
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According to him, a number of countries have signified intention to repatriate Nigerians convicted and pardoned and paroled in those countries, including the UAE, Egypt and the United States of America.
“Coming in the midst of our National Response to COVID 19, all relevant agencies of government are taking multi-sectoral steps to ensure that the process remains within acceptable international protocols and in line with bilateral agreements.
“For the purpose of clarity, this should be distinguished from normal evacuation flights and we wish to state that all evacuation flights will end on 22nd August 2020 after which Airports will be given sufficient time to prepare for reopening,” Mustapha said.
He noted that Nigeria is gradually inching towards the 50,000 marks of confirmed cases of COVID-19 with a total number of confirmed cases standing at 49,098 as at Sunday 16th August 2020.
The SGF said that the PTF has continued to observe the noticeable decline in fatalities, high discharge rates and consistent under 500 daily cases for the past four weeks in spite of the huge jump in testing capacity and the increase in the number daily tests conducted.
He reminded Nigerians that the country has not attained the desired level that will enable it to make conclusive statements on the rate of infection in the country, thus, everyone must continue to do that which is giving the nation’s record improvements and desist from actions capable of undermining the successes.
“The world had its highest daily increase of 294,237 confirmed cases yesterday (Sunday) bringing the total to 22.4million with a cumulative death of 771,000.
“These statistics are daily reminders that humanity is still endangered by this virus. We are also reminded that the countries that appeared to have overcome the pandemic are actually being forced to re-introduce even stricter containment measures,” Mustapha said.
He said that as a country, Nigeria should not and would not lower its guard and that people should also improve their compliance to the various protocols at all levels.
“Today (Monday), the Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSCE) examinations commenced all over the country, like in the other West African States, and the PTF is happy to note the high level of compliance with the protocols for the re-opening of exit classes.
“It is in this light that we appreciate the call by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) for the reopening of tertiary institutions.
“As a listening government, we wish to state that education is topmost on the priority list and the reopening of our institutions remain critical, within set safety parameters,” the SGF added.
He commended the sub-national levels of government for their efforts at advancing the Risk Communication and Community Engagement Strategy.
He said that the PTF is happy to note that their ownership of the strategy has manifested in many states establishing sample collection centres in all their Local Government Areas, while those that are yet to do so are also working on it.
He said that similarly, the establishment of treatment centres, which is contributing to the high number of discharge cases and reduced fatality, in most Local Government Areas is worth commending.
He said that since the nation is fully in the community spread phase, one of the major measures we can take is to keep testing to detect and treat.
While commending the United Arab Emirates for donating 7.5 tonnes of medical supplies and also facilitated the return of stranded Nigerians in their country, the SGF also appreciated the receipt of additional PPEs from the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and Messrs Changzhou Sang Ma Education Foundation, a Chinese company.
“Particularly, we remember with a deep sense of gratitude, the immeasurable role the late Mallam Samaila Isa Funtua played in facilitating the donation by the Chinese company. May his soul rest in peace,” Mustapha said.
…Warns against Fake News
The SGF who lamented the spread of fake news in the COVID-19 pandemic, pleaded with Nigerians to remain focused on the individual and collective fight to win this fight against COVID-19 and not engage in distractive information dissemination.
He said that one of such is the viral trend on social media about the collection of sums of money for COVID-119 negative results.
Mustapha said, “For the benefit of all Nigerians and has been explained previously, by the DG, NCDC, samples are only collected at designated centres and not at the airports.
“It is, therefore, inconceivable that test results would be given at the airports where only passports of returnees are collected.
“It is disturbing to realise that while a good number of Nigerians are sharing their experiences with the coronavirus and encouraging others to take responsibility, some very few Nigerians are bent on spreading misleading information.
“Let us remember, therefore, that this war can only be won when we individually and collectively take responsibility so that we can return to a life devoid of this pandemic.”
