To prevent the exportation of coronavirus disease to states that do not have it and minimise spread, the Federal Government says it will soon lock down the entire country by stopping inter-state/inter-town travels and closing all motor parks and inter-state rail stations.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja, on Thursday, also said the list of those who were suspected to have had contacts with coronavirus patients has grown to 4,370.
He also explained that he and other members of Presidential Taskforce on Coronavirus were not in self-isolation because he had tested negative to its test and they could not afford to be distracted from the national service.
While noting that measures already put in place to stop the spread of the disease were working well, he, however, declared “we are determined to be more aggressive in enforcing the measures aimed at containing the spread of the virus through social distancing, contact tracing, testing, isolation of suspected cases and ensuring that our messaging gets down to the grassroots.”
He stated that already, all train movements nationwide have been stopped and that government will use firefighting and other adaptable vehicles and personnel to fumigate cities and towns.
“We will be considering and announcing new measures from time to time, but be rest assured that whatever decisions we take will be in the best interest of Nigerians.”
While urging those who have had contact with suspected cases to immediately report to the authorities, the minister lamented that government was not getting the kind of cooperation that this moment deserves from Nigerians.
“We urge Nigerians to support the authorities in this regard. We are on the verge of reaching the level of community spread. We must stop this immediately or we will record exponential cases in the days ahead. There is no better way to say this.”
