The failure by Nigerians to comply with COVID-19 protocols during the festive period could lead to an increase in new infections across the country, the Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC) said on Tuesday.
The Director-General of the centre, Chikwe Ihekweazu, at a Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing, said the consequences of violating the rules will appear by January 2021.
Mr Ihekweazu said appeals made to the public to adhere to all non-pharmaceutical measures put in place to limit spread of the virus have been ignored.
He noted that the country had more cases last week than any other week since the onset of the pandemic.
“Our appeals to Nigerians over the last few months have not been heeded and we have gone ahead with business as usual. Events centres are full, social activities are full and so it is no surprise that cases are rising,” Iheakwazu said.
“January will be a tough month, we have to brace ourselves for the consequences of the activities that we decided to carry out in December.”
Since early December, there has been a spike in coronavirus cases across Africa’s most populous country.
Health experts believe the lowering of guard on safety and the weak enforcement of protocols especially in the country’s major airports in Abuja and Lagos could be responsible for the development, warning that the situation could get worse if citizens keep violating safety protocols.
With the country into the second wave of the pandemic, federal authorities have ordered the reopening of all isolation and treatment centres.