Tag: PTF

PTF announces new COVID-19 protocols, insists no going back on 12am-4am curfew nationwide

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has insisted that the 12am-4am curfew remains in force amid the second wave of coronavirus in the country.

Dr Sani Aliyu, who is the National Coordinator of the PTF, stated this on Thursday while briefing reporters in Abuja.

He also announced new protocols as part of measures to curb the spread of the disease, including the closure of bars and clubs in various parts of the country.

The PTF coordinator called on the security agencies to enforce the protocols on the use of face masks and physical distancing.

He echoed the directive that civil servants on Grade Level 12 and below should work from home and asked the permanent secretaries in the respective ministries to enforce the order.

Among other protocols, Aliyu called on state authorities to delay the resumption of schools until at least January 18, 2021.

He also gave an update on what the Federal Government was doing about the new strain of COVID-19 discovered in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

The PTF coordinator disclosed that from Monday next week, all passengers coming in from the UK and South Africa would be compelled to provide their details on the online portal.

According to him, they will also be made to pay for PCR testing on arrival and must test negative and be presented a permit to travel before they will be allowed into Nigeria.

Aliyu noted that a register would also be opened for all passengers from the two countries and the government would ensure that they take the test after seven days.

He gave an assurance that the Federal Government would ensure that those who evade the process were severely dealt with.

The PTF Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, also gave an update on the pandemic at the press briefing.

Others who briefed reporters were the Minister of State for Health, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, and the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu.

December 25, 2020
COVID-19: Buhari extends PTF mandate till March 2021

President Muhammadu Buhari has extended the mandate of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic till March 2021.

The President made this known when he received members of the PTF, who were in the State House to submit the end of the year 2020 report to him.

According to him, Nigeria cannot afford to lose the gains of the past nine months in the fight against the pandemic.

“I am extending the mandate of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 till the end of March 2021, bearing in mind the new surge in the number of cases, and the bid for vaccines.

“Nigeria cannot afford to lose the gains of the last nine months. I have critically evaluated the situation and remain convinced that urgent measures have to be taken to halt the spread of the Coronavirus and the attendant fatalities.

“There is also the need to speedily and strategically access and administer the COVID vaccine in a safe, effective and timely manner. This is an important obligation that we owe Nigerians as we go into the year 2021, and it must be carried out through efficient machinery.

“Now is the time for collective efforts to be intensified. I, therefore, urge all sub-national entities, traditional rulers, religious and leaders of thought to collaborate with the PTF by taking up the responsibility for risk communication and community engagement at all levels.

“As the festive season approaches, I urge all Nigerians to remain vigilant and stay safe. Non-essential trips and large social gatherings should be avoided or shelved completely,” Buhari said.

The President had established the Task Force on March 9, 2020 and their mandate was initially to end December 31, 2020.

December 22, 2020
COVID-19: PTF has released N50 billion to states so far – Official

The National Coordinator of Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Dr Sani Aliyu, has disclosed that N50 billion had been released to states to enable them push for increased testing and improved surveillance.

Aliyu, who spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the PTF media briefing, urged governors to use the resources for the purpose the federal government made them available.

He emphasised the need for continuous investment to push down the pandemic, pointing out that the curves of the pandemic had not flattened.

The National Coordinator also said that massive testing for COVID-19 began this week.

He disclosed that a list of the first 100 passengers, who failed to show up for the test at day 14 after arriving the country, would be published once it was established that they had no cogent reason for their failure to turn up for it.

He said: “This week marks the beginning of a major initiative of increased testings for COVID-19 in the country. Congratulations to Lagos and FCT for testing a good number of their population.

“In fact, FCT has tested at least two per cent of the target we had given. Three states are well on their way – Plateau, Gombe and Rivers. They have already gone beyond 50 percent mark of the target.

“But quite a number of states have not even reached even a quarter and we continue to be concerned because we can say with a fair degree of confidence that we know what is happening in Lagos and FCT, but cannot say the same of other states.

“So, we thank all states governors for opening up sample collection centres across the country. We have given resources to state governments. Every state has received at least a billion naira.

“The state governments have received the largest single bulk of the PTF intervention. As of today, a total of N50 billion has gone to them.

“So, we have enough resources at the state level to be able to push for increased testing and improved surveillance.

“We will continue to work with states government and urge them to use these resources for the purpose that the federal government has given.

“We have to invest in making sure that the pandemic comes down. There is no doubt that we have not flattened the curve yet.

“For those of us that follow the numbers very closely, despite the fact that we are not testing enough, if you follow the number on a week to week basis, you would have noticed a change in the trajectory in the last one week based on the numbers released.

“So, please if you have symptoms, get tested; there is nothing to be afraid of if you are positive. We will take steps to make sure that you are managed properly and ensure you don’t infect your loved ones. And all of us have a role to play.

“Over the last few weeks, we have taken the initiative of opening up our economy, the combination of opening work places, schools, markets and airports

“We have had major demonstrations without any pharmaceutical interventions, a toxic situation for any country already in the toss of COVID pandemic. We should continue to be responsible for our actions, protect ourselves and those we relate with or relate to.

“The PTF is monitoring closely, the situations in European countries that are now struggling to cope with the second wave of infections. Countries like England and France have already gone into lockdown as a number of cases continue to rise.

“Up to 7,000 passengers will potentially come into the country when we fully reopen our airports. The risk of reintroduction and a second wave of COVID-19 is real and this is why we cannot rest on our oars.

“Our airports, portal services are the first lines of defence when it comes to dealing with the pandemic, so we will like to remind travellers that it is absolutely essential that you have double testing.

“Testing before boarding and testing at day seven after arrival in the country remain very important.

“When we looked at our data for the first 5,000 plus passengers coming into the country, 105 were positive at day seven of testing, whereas they had negative result on arrival. This is in a situation where we have not even opened our airports.

“Nigeria continues to have one of the most strict processes when it comes to entering the country as it relates to COVID-19. We are proud of this policy because this is what has been minimising the risk of reintroduction of the infection.

“We know there have been challenges with the portal, we continue to work very closely with our IT to make sure that passengers have a pleasant experience. But there is also responsibility on the part of the passenger.

“A situation where a passenger pays for a test and knows that a test needs to be done on day seven but fails to present for testing despite reminders, is very difficult to understand.

“The reason we test on day seven is in order to pick up those small percentage of individuals that may have been incubating the illness on their way into the country and also to allow people stop isolating on day seven.

“We know there have been issues about the cost of PCR testing and why it’s being done with the private sector. The cost is being determined by negotiation between the private laboratories and the states government.

“The role of the PTF is to ensure that the costs are not excessive. We have taken it as a priority to continue to push the cost of PCR testing down. When we started off with Abuja portal, the cost was about N42,000. It’s down N39,500.

“Last week, we directed the Lagos portal to stop charging passengers outside Lagos N50,000. Kano is charging N36,000 per test, Imo is N38,000 per test. All these are based on negotiations with states but overall, our plan is to continue to push the cost down.

“We also want to continue to supervise private laboratories to ensure they fulfill their own part of the bargain. We have teams working with the private laboratories all over the country so that passengers will not need to move around in order to have a test on day seven.

“But we have to make sure that our quarantine rules are strict if we want to stop transmission, reintroduction of COVID-19 in the country.

“We are looking at our data and over the next few days we will be publishing a list of the first 100 international passengers that failed to show up for the test at day 14.

“We will recheck with these passengers to make sure that they had not had the test by day 14. If there is no reason for failing to do so, we will suspend their passports for six months. This is the only way we can enforce testing at day seven and make sure that we follow up those that are infected.

“The alternative is to stop flights from countries with high prevalence. And for us, we don’t think this is an alternative that is palatable for all of us because we need to keep our economy up.

“For this reason, we will start enforcing what we have right at the beginning of this protocol. We already have approval from Mr. President to do so.

“These measures are not punitive. We know the pandemic is not over yet. We cannot retrogress to where we were before. There is a real risk that we will enter a second wave and we do not want to find ourselves in the situation we were back in March/April.

“So, please let’s be responsible and protect our loved ones,” he said.

November 3, 2020
COVID-19 test: FG sends warning to travellers coming to Nigeria

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, has threatened to sanction travelers who refused to present themselves for a mandatory in-country Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test.

The Chairman of the PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, made the disclosure in a media briefing on Tuesday in Abuja.

Mustapha said that the need had arisen to activate the sanctions which included the suspension of passports of such defaulting individuals for a period of six months minimum or outright visa cancellation.

The PTF had earlier urged individuals traveling to Nigeria from any country to take a COVID-19 PCR test and have a negative result before traveling.

He also urged them to stay in self-isolation for seven days on arrival in Nigeria and take another COVID-19 PCR test on day seven.

Mustapha raised alarm over failure of some Nigerians who arrived from abroad to present themselves for the in-country PCR test which they signed up to and paid before arrival.

“It has, therefore, resolved to revoke passports of travellers that fail to conduct the mandatory COVID-19 PCR test,” he said.

According to the SGF, only one out of three Nigerians who arrived have complied.

Recall that on Sept. 18, the Federal Government had announced that it required a negative COVID-19 PCR test within five days (120 hours) before departure.

“The PTF had also in September said while Nigerians will get six- month passport suspension, foreigners face outright visa cancellation.

“The PTF had said Nigeria placed travel bans as part of the global lockdown measures to contain the spread of the pandemic in March 2020.

It had stressed that it was mandatory that travellers have the PCR test done on day 7th upon arrival.

“It had also said all returning travelers to Nigeria must have tested negative for COVID-19 through PCR testing in the country of departure. The PCR test must now be administered no more than 120 hours before departure.

“Nigeria resumed International flights on the 5th of September and the update followed the announcement by Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA,) that the maximum number of passengers of each incoming international flight must be 200 passengers.

Mustapha said that the PTF was highlighting these issues repeatedly because they remained at risk of importation, having opened the airspace and massive spread as a result of the protests.

“The next week or two remain critical. The PTF has noted with sadness the failure of Nigerians who arrived from abroad to present themselves for the in-country PCR test which they signed up to and paid before arrival.

Statistics emerging from our records show that only one out of three passengers have shown up for the in-country test.

“As you may recall, the PTF announced the guidelines on the reopening of the airspace and the obligations of arriving passengers.

The SGF said as part of the strategy of the PTF to deepen community engagement, he addressed an emergency session of the National Executive Committee of the National Council of Traditional Rulers Tuesday.

He noted that the contributions of traditional rulers to the successes so far recorded in the National Response could not be overemphasized.

“Accordingly, I acknowledged and thanked all our traditional rulers for their support and urged them to continue to do more especially in the areas of risk communication and community engagement.

“Adherence to the Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions measures and the need for people to come out for testing were emphasized.

“Finally, I wish to inform you that the PTF has revised its meeting and briefing frequency to once a week, to allow members carry out other functions and activities.

“This does not preclude the need to call for emergency meetings and briefings when the need arises. With effect from Thursday, 5th November, 2020 therefore, the national briefing will only hold once, weekly.”

November 3, 2020
PTF warns against closure of isolation centres, says second wave of pandemic imminent

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 Control has cautioned against the closure of isolation centres.

Health Minister Dr. Osagie Ehanire warned states against taking the drop in the number of cases on admission and apparent decline in the number of active COVID-19 cases for an end to infections.

He advised them to maintain some of the isolation centres in readiness for a possible surge in cases and a second wave of the pandemic, as evident in other countries across the globe.

Dr. Ehanire, who spoke during the PTF briefing in Abuja on Monday, said: “With the decline in the number of active cases and the number of cases on admission drops, some isolation centres in the country are already making arrangements to rationalise the number of frontline health personnel into the reserve pool or redeployed. This would be done in a manner that will allow easy re-mobilisation where necessary.

“We, however, advise states and relevant stakeholders not to completely close all isolation centres due to consistent lack of patients but some centres should rather be maintained. This is to ensure promptness and readiness against any surge as part of l preparation against possible second wave.

“We are taking advantage of the low active cases to carry out appraisal and reappraisal of activities at the isolation centres. This is necessary to assess and understand areas of strengths, weaknesses, available opportunities as well as dangers. Such activities will consolidate gains while taking measures to prevent re-occurrence of errors as well as deployment of appropriate resources.

“We are also making arrangements for stock taking and repurposing of equipment earlier deployed to temporary isolation centres with a view to using the opportunity provided by the resource mobilisation for the COVID-19 response for health systems strengthening.”

The minister cautioned protesting youths against attacking medical stores and warehouses belonging to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

According to him, the drugs and other medical consumables in such warehouses are stored under controlled environmental conditions, warning that the destruction of the items would impact negatively on our response to the pandemic.

He said: “The NCDC warehouse in Idu is used for the storage of medical and laboratory consumables and equipment. Destruction of these items will impact negatively on our response to this pandemic.

“I also call on all who are in possession of vaccines, medicine and other equipment and consumables to please return them. Those that can still be salvaged will be used and those that cannot will be disposed off properly.”

PTF Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, said the nation has been negatively impacted by the looting and arson triggered by the #EndSARS protests.

Mustapha, who pointed out that the virus had kept its speed across the globe, noted that though Nigeria had yet to experience a second wave of the virus, the ongoing unrest and escalating criminal activities had further stretched the national economy.

He said: “The PTF still wishes to appeal to all Nigerians to remain law abiding and collaborate with law enforcement agencies to restore normalcy to our dear country.

“Humanity has been traumatized by COVID-19. Our nation is not experiencing a second wave but has been impacted negatively by the looting and arson.”

Speaking on the invasion of palliative warehouses, the PTF chair clarified the mode of distribution of palliatives, noting that the supply provided by the private sector initiative, under the umbrella of CACOVID, was affected.

He said: “Of particular concern to the PTF, is the issue of palliatives found and looted from various warehouses around the country. It is important to make the following clarifications.

“The Federal Government palliatives consisted largely of the 70MT of grains released from the Strategic Grain Reserves as well as rice secured from the Nigerian Customs Service. The share for each state was handed over to the state governments for onward distribution to the citizens.”

The NCDC said Nigerians cannot run away from the consequences of mass gatherings, especially as a result of protests, religious activities that have taken place over the past weeks.

It further said that as a result of the curfew placed by some state governments to maintain peace in their domains was slowing down testing in COVID-19 testing laboratories.

Its Director-General Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, said: “The outbreak is escalating around the world literally. We have held things down because of our proactive measures – the very effective airport screening which was put in place to limit the re-introduction of cases from countries where the outbreak is escalating.

“This virus does not know the reason why people are congregating – whether you are congregating for religious purposes, protest, partying, etc. This virus takes opportunity of people coming together.

“We cannot afford to let down our guards irrespective of what our anger is at the moment. As we move into the next two weeks, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that we have to watch the numbers very carefully.

“The reasons are obvious – we have gathered in our masses for whatever reason, and now we have to keep our eyes open to face the potential consequences. But those consequences are not inevitable. We can still do our part to prevent them.”

October 27, 2020
PTF builds health infrastructure with additional 39 labs across 25 states, By Chido Nwakanma

By Chido Nwakanma

Students of Policy in Nigeria and Africa must pay attention to institutions such as the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, the Nigerian framework for the management of the pandemic that struck at the beginning of 2020. One area of interest would be to compare its performance with what its peers are doing across the world. Another is the frequent mismatch between policy statements and their execution in Africa’s most populous country.

Six months into its formation, the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, has contributed to the upscaling of critical health infrastructure in Nigeria, particularly in disease identification and investigation.

Through the work of the PTF, Nigeria has built additional 39 molecular laboratories able to carry out investigations into coronavirus and related ailments. There were barely five such laboratories in the country in March 2020 when the PTF commenced work.

Dr Sani Aliyu, the PTF National Coordinator, confirmed that pushing for and upscaling health infrastructure across the country is one of the significant contributions of the PTF.

These molecular labs are part of the 74 laboratories the National Centre for Disease Control approved for COVID-19 tests in Nigeria as of 20 October 2020. They consist of 68 public laboratories and six private health facilities of which COVID-19 tests are free at the public health facilities.

Part of the upscaling of Nigeria’s medical response has seen the establishment of 43 Rapid Response Teams in the States.

According to Dr Omotayo Bolu, a senior executive with the PTF, “The State Rapid Response teams are national-level teams of experts mobilized during the initial stage of the pandemic to quickly support the state teams in setting up the COVID 19 State Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs). They supported the state teams to quickly ramp up their responses, especially for epi-surveillance, case finding, sample collection, case management, and risk communication. Specifically, once a case is detected, they investigate and initiate contact tracing, ensure testing of contacts and recommend positives for isolation.”

The PTF played a central role in the establishment of the additional laboratories. It coordinated and mobilized critical stakeholders including Ministries, Departments and Agencies, donors and private sector (notably CACOVID) to align towards the goal of achieving a single national response, thus optimizing efforts, ensuring efficiency, and avoiding duplications.

It also assisted with resource mobilization. Dr Bolu states, “PTF mobilized partners to provide resources including donations of critical lab equipment and supplies. PTF facilitated the expansion of labs services involving private labs, thus increasing service coverage and uptake.”

The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control took on the role of accrediting the labs before the establishment of their services per strict guidelines and accreditation criteria.

Through the prompting and assistance of the Task Force and the NCDC, Nigeria now has many isolation centres to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. State governments, private sector coalitions such as CACOVID as well as groups and individuals established these isolation centres.

What will happen to the isolation centres as the COVID-19 caseload continues to decrease? What is the counsel of the PTF on the matter? The PTF executive stated, “The plan is to transition temporary isolation centres with its equipment to permanent isolation centres in each state. The aim is to increase the level of preparedness of the states for future epidemic/pandemics. The goal is to ensure that Nigeria has permanent structures and equipment that it can sustain to respond to the ongoing outbreak and future epidemics.

Dr Bolu offers an overview of the role of the agency. “The PTF stakeholder mobilization has resulted in the commitment of resources in the health system. These health system investments made it possible to provide critical medical equipment, training and supplies that were not readily available pre-COVID-19. Thus, it has improved the preparedness level of the health system, being in a better position to handle future epidemics/pandemics.

“Working in close collaboration with NCDC, Federal Ministry of Health and other partners, PTF facilitated the in-country expansion of laboratory testing capacity, isolation/treatment centres, Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and other equipment such as ventilators & PPEs. These infrastructures and equipment domicile in various states and they will continue to put them in good use for other medical responses to Nigerians beyond COVID-19.”

October 24, 2020
COVID-19: PTF warns Nigerians against travelling to US, UK, France, others

The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Monday warned Nigerians against travelling to or receiving travellers from the United States of America, United Kingdom, India, Russia and France.

The warning came on the backdrop of increased COVID-19 cases in those countries.

It also warned #EndSARS protesters against contracting and spreading the virus while gathering to protest against the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force.

The calls were made at the PTF’s media briefing in Abuja on Monday.

The National Coordinator of the PTF, Dr Sani Aliyu, while answering a question on the protests, said, “On the impact of what has been going on and incidence of (having) new COVID-19 infections in the country, we are monitoring the situation in terms of testing closely.

“We will continue to urge all – the young, the old, and the vulnerable – to please be careful. Any mass gathering of any sort is an event amplifying the situation for COVID-19. And COVID-19 is still very much around with us, we don’t want to get infected and carry the infection to our loved ones, especially those at home that might be vulnerable.”

The task force’s chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, also corroborated Aliyu’s position.

The SGF, who urged the #EndSARS protesters to harken to the invitation to dialogue, emphasising that non-compliance with the non-pharmaceutical protocols were risky adventures that must be avoided.

“We urge everyone who has been exposed unduly to large gathering to get tested and/or report any signs of the symptoms of COVID-19,” he said.

Mustapha also noted that the global cases of COVID-19 rose by a record 400,000 cases on October 16 with 43 per cent of all the cases occurring in Europe, especially in the UK and France.

“The top five countries in new cases reported in the last 24 hours are India (55,511); USA (44,941); France (29,837); UK (16,982) and Russia (15,099).

“It is important to take precaution when planning to travel or receive travellers from these countries,” he said.

He however said Nigeria was on the path to winning the war against the virus.

Mustapha said, “The PTF continues to monitor developments in-country and around the world so as to improve on its activities and its decisions.”

He said 4,876 patients recovered and were discharged which represents a 388 per cent increase when compared with 967 people discharged in the previous week.

The SGF added that cumulatively, a total of 56,611 patients had been discharged after treatment, representing 92 per cent of all cases in Nigeria.

“Last week was week 34 of our National Response and week 42 of the year. Indications are that Nigeria appears to be winning the war against COVID-19. Some of the current figures support this position.”

According to him, in the 34th week of the pandemic in Nigeria, a total of 1,174 new cases were recorded in the country, representing a 32 per cent increase from the 921 recorded in the previous week.

Mustapha said, “This statistical review becomes very relevant when we remember that over the same period, quite a number of large gathering events, particularly the protests across the country have been taking place.

“It becomes more pertinent because of the fact that measures such as mask wearing, social distancing and use of sanitisers were never observed.”

October 20, 2020
PTF releases fresh guidelines for schools reopening nationwide

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has released fresh guidelines for the reopening of schools nationwide.

This development follows the earlier directive by the PTF that schools were free to reopen as from October 12.

Addressing journalists at Thursday’s briefing of the PTF in Abuja, the National Coordinator of the taskforce, Dr Sani Aliyu, said the fresh guidelines which schools must strictly adhere to were developed by the PTF in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Education and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Aliyu added, “Schools and educational bodies that plan to reopen must have detailed communication protocols that include parents, school health teams, school authorities and local state officials.

“They must also have a system for providing regular updates to parents, staff and relevant authorities as well as communicate changes to procedures effectively and clearly as well as taking effective measures to understand how COVID-19 can spread and how to mitigate the spread in line with official guidelines.

“Specifically, school authorities have the responsibilities to ensure that everyone gaining access to their schools is screened properly, is wearing a mask and sanitising their hands.

“Boarding schools must have identified areas for screening and putting positive students aside.

“There must be access to running water and handwashing facilities.

“The health staff, particularly in boarding schools, must be trained and provided with PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).

“There must be appropriate waste management systems.

“Health facilities that are within the schools that serve the schools should have the ability to cater for an outbreak and a response protocol must be in place for these schools for students who test positive. In this regard, it is important to involve their parents and make sure that parents have signed consent forms in advance.

“Schools should also work in synergy with the local government rapid response teams and collaborate with the state ministries of health on planning, implementation and reopening of schools.

“We encourage schools to consider creative solutions to abide by these guidelines.”

The Coordinator also said that the Independent National Electoral Commission would enforce the no-face-mask-no-voting directive in the forthcoming governorship election holding on Saturday in Ondo State.

Aliyu said with 1.5 million eligible voters in 3,000 polling units across 18 Local Government Areas of the state, the election “is clearly a huge exercise” which would also come with its risk.

He also urged the “17 candidates in the election to live by example” by adhering strictly to the COVID-19 guidelines.

October 9, 2020
PTF accuses states of complacency in final COVID-19 battle

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Monday accused states of not doing enough COVID-19 tests despite the increased capacity.

As at the last count, there are 71 molecular laboratories in the country excluding the accredited private hospitals where COVID-19 tests can be conducted.

The PTF noted that apart from not collecting many samples and conducting enough tests, many states are no longer filing reports on the tests to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

It said on Monday that only 13 states reported their figures in the last 24 hours (on Sunday).

It warned that although the number of confirmed cases are low, it is not a basis to draw any conclusion that the country is flattening the curve of the disease.

Minister of Health Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who spoke during the PTF on briefing, said: “Seventy-nine confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection were reported in the past 24 hours from 13 states of the Federation, bringing the total number of known cases as of today 14th September, 2020 to 56,256 out of a total of number of 442,075 tests conducted. 44,152 persons have been treated and discharged while 1,082 have sadly been lost to COVID-19.

“Though we continue to record declining positivity rates every day, we are reluctant to conclude that we are halting the spread of disease, because some states have not sustained the testing rate that would give us more assurance. Only 13 States, for example, reported their figures in the past 24 hours. This can be better.

“Until all parts of the country can sustain a certain testing rate, it would seem presumptuous to conclude that we are flattening the curve. In the words of Tedros Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), we are not safe until everyone is safe. I therefore again request our state governments to ramp up the testing momentum, so that we can together get control of the spread of this disease in our country.”

He added, “The entire surveillance diagnostics and response is inter-related. The NCDC is responsible for surveillance and diagnostics mainly. They support the in other activities. The states governments are the one that begin the actual activity of collecting samples, working out the surveillance, contact tracing etc. So there is an interdependency there.

“Not all the laboratories belong to the NCDC. The job of the NCDC is largely to coordinate. The interdependency means that there must be sample collection and testing going on. The NCDC can only report what it gets.”

Head of Disease Surveillance at the NCDC, Elsie Ilori, who represented the Director-General, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, added: “It is what the states give to you that you get. We have a platform where they report; sending their electronic reporting to us. Some of the states have issues with their laboratories and they are not testing. What we tell them is to send samples to our national reference lab and they test for you.

“Some states are still struggling to get people to come for their samples to be collected. But we are working with the States. Those that do not have active cases does not mean that they are not working. You can collect samples and not have a confirmed case among the samples collected.

“We are really monitoring the States to make sure that they do what they’re supposed to do. We want to ensure that all LGAs have sample collection sites, and then we encourage our people to come out and get tested.”

September 15, 2020
Nigeria’s positive COVID-19 cases remain low despite increased testing – PTF

Nigeria has started seeing a drop in the number of positive COVID-19 cases, despite increase in the number of samples collected, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 said on Thursday.

It, however, cautioned that the fall in positive cases does not mean that the virus spread is reducing.

Minister of State for Health Dr. Adeleke Mamora stated this in Abuja during the briefing on COVID-19.

The report by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for September 10, shows that the total number of positive cases recorded in Nigeria is 55,632, of a total of 433,206 samples tested. Also, in the last 24 hours, 176 positive cases out of 2,494 samples tested were recorded.

Mamora said: “We continue to record low positivity rate even as the number of samples tested has increased. While this is a cheering development, it will be presumptuous to conclude that the disease is reducing. This is because as of today, not many states are testing. We shall therefore, ensure that testing continues in all the states until we reach our daily targets.

“Ten per cent of positive cases are children and adolescents with more than half of them in the age bracket of 10-18 years. It is therefore, pertinent at this point to renew the warning of the PTF on the reopening of schools so as not to expose our children to the risk of infection.”

He added: “In my meeting with the Chief Medical Directors and medical directors of the Federal Teaching Hospitals and Specialist hospitals last week, I stressed the need for them to work in synergy with the state governments to ensure a coordinated response. The meeting also provided an opportunity for the Medical Directors to exchange notes and share experience.

“Important components on COVID-19 response such as laboratory testing, home based care, psychosocial implications of covid19, challenges associated with covid19 case management (Isolation and treatment), were discussed.

“A critical and important outcome of the meeting was the resolve of the medical directors to complement the efforts of state governments in the fight against the pandemic. They also stressed the need for continued routine services in order not to erode the gains we have made in other areas of health.”

Representing the Director-General of the NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Head of Disease Surveillance for the agency, Elsie Ilori, said: “According to research, about 80 percent of people infected with the virus will actually be moderate, mild or not even show symptoms at all.

“However, there are some people that will have severe complications and require intensive care. These are mainly the elderly or persons with existing health conditions such as diabetes, and that may weaken their immune system.

“Even though we as healthy people are not showing symptoms, but there are some that have conditions and they might not survive it. So we need to take responsibility. Our strategy in the countries to promptly detect, isolate and manage cases to recovery.

“In Nigeria, the age group with the highest cases of covid-19 are those between 31 and 40 years of age, and those are the active age group. The age group with the highest mortality are 50 and above. Unfortunately, at least one person out of 10 of that age group might die.”

September 11, 2020