Another lockdown inevitable in Lagos, FCT- Mamora

There was relief in the faces of the people of Lagos and the FCT after the Federal Government eased the COVID-19 lock down restrictions in the two cities. The gradual lifting over a six-week period of the lock down restrictions to enable some activities return had been announced a week earlier by President Mohammadu Buhari in his live address to the nation.

However, the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Olorunnimbe Mamora, said that another lock down is inevitable in the two cities as people are not complying with the guidelines given by the government and health personnel.

His statement: “I am not comfortable with what I am seeing, the relaxation is a cause for worry, and it is giving a lot of concern. Whether you talk of physical distancing, restricted access to markets, limitation of number of customers at the banks, wearing of face masks, hand washing, etc, there is violation. Buses and taxis that were told to carry fewer passengers were being overloaded. What the guidelines recommended were not obeyed with the relaxation. It gives cause for concern a lot.”

Dr. Mamora while recalling the guidelines and advisories of the Presidential Task Force, PTF, on COVID-19 and other enforcement expectations, said caution had been thrown to the winds. “The truth is that we had preached to the people what to do and we will continue to preach that every individual has primary responsibility for their own health. Where advisories are given, it would be expected that people would follow them, and if not, there would be worry. We would expect that it is the way to go for the advisories to be obeyed by the people in their own interest.”

In his own remark, the Coordinator of the PTF, Dr. Sani Aliyu, warns that things are not back to normal just because part of the lock down was lifted to enable people to have some sense of normalcy and that people need to continue obeying all the given guidelines and advisories for their safety.