Scientists have called on the federal government to order a lockdown of Nigeria to prevent further spread of COVID-19. The National Academy of Science, which acts as a scientific advisor to the Federal Government of Nigeria, made the call in a statement by its president, Mosto Onuoha.
Mr Onuoha said the lockdown should be national, with uniform regulations, and led by the federal government. Onuoha, who is a professor, said the country should be locked down for four weeks to reduce the number of new importations of COVID-19.
“In 4 weeks, virtually all COVID-19 cases and contacts should have been discovered or should have recovered. “It is now time for a national lockdown, especially now that the disease has invaded the highest level of our governance threatening our national security! While the effort of individual state governments is lauded, with a lockdown, all citizens are required (as much as possible) to stay at home leaving room only for essential activities that allow for basic functions such as feeding and accessing health care,” he said.
Onuoha said since most of the confirmed cases are imported, and a few being contacts of the imported cases, Nigeria is beginning to have cases with unclear infection sources, “this suggests the possible existence of community transmission and needs to be curtailed early.” It is unclear how widespread the disease might be in the country given the evolving number of cases at this point, and the difficulty in tracking their movements and those of their contacts,” he said.
Meanwhile, a Presidency source said President Muhammadu Buhari resumed work on Wednesday without receiving any visitor. The source said President Buhari was still working in his office as of 2:30pm but received no government functionary for the usual briefing. Already, the President on the recommendation of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on #Coronavirus, #PTFCOVID19, approved the suspension of weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings, which he would have chaired today, until further notice. He also endorsed the postponement of meeting of Council of State earlier scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, March 26, 2020.
Other measures approved included the decision that “all land borders that have been hitherto under partial closure shall now be closed to human traffic for four weeks effective from March 23, 2020. “If and when the need arises, any national assets required for use in the response to COVID-19 shall be mobilized and deployed.”
The COVID-19 has killed over 15,000 people globally, the majority of them in Europe and China. In Nigeria, there are 46 cases of COVID-19, including one death. The Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, are among Nigeria’s 46 confirmed cases. Some states have already placed restrictions on public gatherings, including in churches and mosques.
Lagos, Nigeria’s most affected state with COVID-19, has also said it would shut markets from Thursday except for essential products. The federal government has asked civil servants from level 1-12 to work from home.