A SPEECH OF THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF HEALTH, DR. OSAGIE EHANIRE AT THE PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE ON COVID-19 PRESS BRIEFING ON TUESDAY 28TH APRIL, 2020
PROTOCOL
As of today, 28th April, 2020, 1,337 people have been confirmed to have COVID-19. The 64 new confirmations are distributed as follows: 34 in Lagos, 15 in FCT, 11 in Borno and 2 each in Gombe and Taraba. 255 persons have been successfully treated for COVID-19 and discharged, and sadly, 40 deaths have been recorded. The concern at these figures is understandable as stronger signs of community transmission, but it is not altogether unexpected. The highly propagated social measures like distancing and postponement of non-essential travel have had only limited success; they must therefore also be a reminder that we need to redouble our efforts to comply with advisories.
2. The Federal Ministry of Health, through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control is continuing with expansion of the molecular laboratory network, and collaboration with the private sector in this and other regards.
3. There is national concern about the sharp increase of COVID-19 positive cases in Kano concentrated in 7 municipal Council areas and also about certain so-called "unexplained" deaths. The authorities have explained that the latter were not out of the ordinary. His Excellency the Governor of Kano is well known for his interest in health and has agreed to receive a high-powered 9-man delegation sent to Kano by the FMoH on a fact-finding mission and to offer support to the COVID-19 response in Kano. The multidisciplinary technical experts, will assess the needs and the design for on-site capacity building for State teams and advise on the state response and preparedness plan. Ambulances are also to be deployed urgently to Kano to support the State on provision of emergency patient transport services, as the State is on lockdown.
4. The Ministry of Health has set up a Ministerial expert advisory committee, made up of eminent Nigerian virologists, public health experts, Infectious disease and diagnostic experts and others, to study the evolution and development of the COVID-19 outbreak and the responses in Nigeria and advise on the national strategy and action plan, using lessons learned as we go along, and those learned from strategies in place across the globe. This will help us to identify and adopt the promising strategies and align our plans with best practices and advisories.
5. The announcement of new measures for non-pharmacological intervention by Mr. President, will allow FMoH additional time for contact tracing and testing. We implore citizens to wear face masks or face coverings at all times when leaving their homes, as required for individual and public safety.
6. Advisories have also been issued for staying protected during this Ramadan season, as risk communications has also been intensified by airing jingles in local languages on physical distancing and stigmatisation across all states.
7. Arresting the spread of this virus requires our individual and collective effort. I shall reiterate the public health advisories, particularly during this period of Ramadan:
▪ Stay at home, avoid large gatherings especially during iftar;
▪ Practice physical distancing by strictly maintaining a distance of at least 2 metres (6 feet) between people always;
▪ Use non-contact greetings, such as waving, nodding, or placing a hand over your heart;
▪ The Elderly and anyone with pre-existing medical conditions (hypertension, TB, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes cardiovascular disease) should not attend gatherings and should avoid receiving non-essential guests at this time; and
▪ Use masks or face coverings over your nose and mouth, if you must leave your home.
9. Resources and real time information on COVID-19 can be found on the social media handles of FMoH and NCDC, the FMoH website and the NCDC COVID-19 microsite covid19.ncdc.gov.ng.
Thank you.
