The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha has advised Nigerians to get tested for the coronavirus in order to know their status.
Mustapha, who disclosed this at the media briefing on Monday in Abuja, said the call on Nigerians to get tested had become necessary in order to ascertain the more accurately, the level of the spread of the disease in the country.
While reassuring Nigerians that covid-19 is not a death sentence, he emphasied that there is need for the elderly and those who have terminal illnesses to be kept away from being exposed to the disease as they are the most vulnerable in society.
“As we progress in this phase and acknowledging that testing capacity has to be increased, we encourage as many Nigerians as possible to get tested, we have expanded the network of sample collection centres.
“In Abuja, a sample collection centre has been set up at THIS DAY DOME and all Government hospitals in the FCT have been designated as sample collection centres. The Honourable Minister of Health would provide details in due course.
“Getting tested is the only sure way of making sure we know the prevalence of the virus and understand how to tackle it effectively.”
“Please let us all resolve to play our part, while Government does its best to save lives and livelihood. To this end, all government offices shall continue to hold virtual meetings in their offices especially where participants exceed four persons and suspend all unnecessary travels for meetings.
With the lifting of restrictions on domestic flights, he warned that it should not be misconstrued and advised corporate organisations, board members and others to adopt virtual meetings and reduce movements.
“We still urge places of worship to cautiously follow the guide lines on public gatherings; and we urge members of the political class to exercise utmost circumspection in their gathering for whatever reasons,” he said.
On resumption of schools he said “the PTF has followed with keen interest the conversation around the resumption of schools. We recognize that our children are precious and we would not do anything to compromise their safety.
“The PTF has assessed the circumstances and has put in place necessary guidelines to be followed while the managers of the sector have the responsibility for drawing up the protocols and determining the dates.
“We urge Nigerians to follow closely the critical steps being taken by the Federal Ministry of Education in conjunction with other stakeholders,” he said.
