Coronavirus cases may reach 39,000, says Health Commissioner

Coronavirus cases may reach 39,000, says Health Commissioner

* Lagos may impose curfew soon ─Governor Sanwo-Olu
* Advocates practice of good hygiene, social distancing
Web Editor | ConsumerConnect
The Lagos State Government has warned that if residents of the state refuse to adhere to social distancing, the number of confirmed cases may reach 39, 000 in Lagos State.

Reports say that Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has activated four new laboratories as part of efforts to expand its testing capabilities and ensure no COVID-19 case is left unconfirmed.

Prof. Akin Abayomi, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, who stated this at a news conference, Friday said it was very important for Lagosians to adhere to social distancing.

It was one of the measures to halt the spread of the respiratory disease, Prof. Abayomi disclosed.

He said: “Our mathematical modelling shows that the worst-case scenario is that we may see up to 39,000 cases in Lagos, but if everyone practises good social distancing, the figure will be limited to 13,000.

“If we add social distancing to active contact tracing, then we will be able to bend the curve further.

“The figures may seem alarming at this point, but this is just to emphasise to the Lagos community to follow instructions of the incident commander to make sure that we practice social distancing,” the Commissioner for Health stated.

Abayomi further said, “looking at the same timeframe from the introduction of the index case, you can see that Lagos State is not seen anywhere near what Spain, Italy, and Iran are showing.

“So, at weeks two and three of our index case, we are flat; and at week four, we have 37 cases; while at the same fourth week, Italy, Iran, and Spain had more than 20,000 cases,” Abayomi added.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has stated that it has activated four new laboratories as part of efforts to expand its testing capabilities.

Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-General, NCDC, who stated this on Arise News Channel Friday, said one of the centres will be in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, one in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and one in Ibadan, Oyo State Capital.

Dr. Ihekweazu said: “Lagos and Abuja are activating treatment centres. This needs to also happen in other states.

“We need to preserve the hospitals for those that are severely ill, and in other to do that, we need to have alternative treatment and isolation centres where most people that do not require ventilator can be put together safely.

“We are not ready yet, but we are working and increasing our level of preparedness everyday.

“The minister of health is completely focused on this and he has been going around everyday making sure we have this facilities and he has been calling up the commissioners.”

“Most states have identified treatment centres and we are calling on the governors to take personal responsibility to make sure that these spaces are ready. People do not take it seriously until they have their first, fifth and 10th case.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government is considering the imposition of curfew, as part of efforts to curtail the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu revealed this during a press conference Friday while giving an update on the disease.

“Are we moving in the direction of curfew soon? Yes, we are,” he said in response to a question on the restriction of movement in Lagos.

He, however, explained that the state government has yet to make the proclamation as certain indices were being expected.

The governor noted that the state government would not hesitate to take the decision to shut down activities if the need arises.

He said, “There are indices that need to happen; there are numbers that we need to see for us to know that we need to shut down everywhere, but we have not seen that number.

“As we are having cases coming in, we are also excited because we are seeing a very positive response and patients also at the edge of being discharged and that for us shows that there are some balances coming in.”

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