Nigerians have been warned to prepare for a spike in COVID-19 cases, though the reported cases are for now plateauing. On Monday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC reported just 118 new cases, following 133 cases on Sunday and 113 on Saturday.
Only nine states and Abuja reported new infections, with Lagos posting 51 cases, the highest.
“The 118 new cases are reported from Lagos (51), Rivers (26), Imo (12), Osun (8), Plateau (6), FCT (5), Kaduna (4), Ogun (3), Edo (2), Niger (1)”, the NCDC said on Monday night.
“Till date, 61558 cases have been confirmed, 56697 cases have been discharged and 1125 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory”, it added. The COVID-19 numbers are tumbling in Nigeria ahead of the predicted spikes in the next two weeks by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, following street marches by #EndSAR protesters.
Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Task Force (PTF) made the forecast on Monday in Abuja at the joint national briefing of the task force.
Mustapha said the prediction was due to the total disregard for the preventive measures against the virus exhibited by thousands of Nigerians protesting in the ongoing #Endsars campaign across various cities in the country.
Thousands of Nigerians have in the past 10 days, flooded the streets of Abuja, Lagos, Benin, Awka, Port Harcourt and other states to protest against police brutality, extra-judicial killings and bad governance.Mustapha said : “Truth be told, two weeks from today, if you get all the people that congregated at the Lekki Toll Plaza and run a test, you would establish for sure several infections.
“Any mass gathering that does not adhere to the non pharmaceutical interventions that have been put in place, which include wearing of masks, social distancing, keeping personal hygiene and avoiding mass gatherings, they become super spreader events, whether you like it or not.
“So I can say with a definitive voice that two weeks from today, get everybody that congregated in those places, not only at the Lekki Toll Plaza, but also the Unity Fountain in Abuja but several other places, we would definitely be contending with an increase in infections, two weeks from now, and that’s why we must be extremely careful when we congregate.”