Following the latest release of the number of coronavirus cases in the country, by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has revealed that the country may just begin to feel the full weight of the pandemic.
As at press time, the total number of cases in the country stands at 12,801 with 361 fatalities.
The PTF added that the reason for the low testing ratio to the population is because the Nigerians were shunning the idea of getting tested.
This disclosure was made by the Chairman of the PTF, who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, after the committee was summoned by the House of Representatives on Monday to give account for the funds allocated to fight the pandemic.
Mustapha urged the lawmakers to help carry the campaign to their various constituencies.
He said, “I must say that the virus is still very dangerous. We have not peaked; we have to meticulously plan. There is no timeline; that is why money is not being thrown at it just because it has been released.
“We don’t know how long this will take us. Even the budget that the National Coordinator mentioned is for a period of six months. We do not know how long it will take us. But by the grace of God, we shall overcome.
“There is no medicine or vaccine for this. The humanity is simply overwhelmed by it. Everything has been turned upside down. Today, we are all masked up. We never used to know it like this. Please, honourable members, there is a lot you can do for us; a lot of legislative actions that can be taken, looking into the future. We are dealing with it today; the next pandemic must not catch us unawares. We must prepare for it.”
Earlier, the Director General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, while responding to a question on whether the PTF had projected a figure for cases to know when Nigeria has reached the peak of the pandemic, said the country is just about to experience the full-blown pandemic.
Ihekweazu also dismissed the speculations that the centre had spent millions on creating awareness via text messages.
He said, “We are still in the middle of a very, very bad outbreak. In fact, it is most likely that we are at the beginning of a very bad outbreak. This is the honest truth. And as we dig into the details of what we have done, I really crave your indulgence to please, bear in mind that we do this work together, because we really have a collective responsibility to our people.”
