The Lagos State government has announced to the residents to adhere strictly to precautionary measures against the transmission of COVID-19 to prevent a recurrence of the situation that led to the lockdown of the economy.
The Commissioner for Health in Lagos
, Professor Akin Abayomi, on Tuesday explained that a resurgence of cases in Lagos may lead to the reversal of the strategically calculated measures put in place by the government to open up the economy.
Abayomi pointed out that the COVID-19 induced practices of face mask use, social distancing, and hand hygiene were gradually waning among residents and called for the reinforcement of the adoption and adherence of various preventive measures.
He added, “The containment measures put in place at the time included COVID-19 testing, isolation and treatment, surveillance, total shutdown of the state for about 12 weeks and a partial shutdown of social, economic and academic activities for over four months.”
He, therefore, urged residents to avoid unnecessary movement and social gatherings, unless it was necessary while travelling into and outside the country should also be discouraged except when absolutely necessary.
According to him, early diagnosis allows for prompt and adequate management and care, resulting in the prevention of transmission to other citizens, particularly, vulnerable and elderly members of society who may have underlying predispositions.
Due to the recent rise in coronavirus, Abayomi said many of the affected countries have found it necessary to impose a second lockdown and restriction of movements, which have significant socio-economic and security consequences.
He stated, “The erroneous belief that COVID-19 has been conquered and is no more in Nigeria should be discarded. Based on our data, this assumption is invalid.
“It creates a false sense of security amongst the citizens, causing many to abandon the use of face masks and other safety measures and protocols put in place by the government.”
The commissioner said that the widespread increasing COVID-19 testing capacity of the state has been very impactful in reducing community transmission, but urged residents who fall within the case definition of COVID-19 infection to visit any of the dedicated sample collection sites in their local government or public laboratories to get a test done free of charge.
Photo credit : Business Day
