Nine LGs account for 51% of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria – FG

The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, said nine local government areas in the country accounted for 51 per cent of the total number of COVID-19 infections in the country.

He spoke at the PTF press briefing on Monday,

Mustapha stated, “Our surveillance, infection prevention and control activities identified nine high burden local government areas in the federation reporting high number of cases and accounting for 51 per cent of the total number of infections in the country. All the nine are densely populated local government areas nationwide.”

He also noted that the health care system had been better equipped to detect, test, isolate and treat every case, and trace every person who came into contact with a positive case.

The SGF added that COVID-19 laboratories had increased from 15 on April 27 to 26; adding that the total number of tests had risen to 35,098.

Mustapha said despite the gains recorded, the PTF in its report to the President concluded that there was still a long way to go.

He stated, “The inevitable conclusion of the PTF is that the fight against COVID-19 is long term as the virus is not likely to go away very soon.

“This is further underscored by the fact that no vaccine is expected till around the end of 2021. Nigeria is not where we wish to be in terms of control, ownership, infrastructure, and change of behaviour. We must do more.”

The PTF chairman said the task force would focus its policy on community ownership.

He said in the next phase, communities would take ownership of the COVID-19 fight, adding that infrastructure and other public health measures would be provided in every community.