FG mulls reopening schools after lifting ban on interstate movement

The Federal Government has said it is considering reopening schools in the country after lifting the ban it imposed on interstate movement to control the Covid-19 pandemic. The government also released the report of its fact-finding committee sent to Kano state in the wake of mysterious deaths at a time it was battling to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

This was as the federal government said it was pursuing precision actions in 20 local government areas which currently bear a 60 percent burden of the Pandemic.

While it said it has begun offering psychological support to families of patients, the government added that Nigerians who would be evacuated from the diaspora would now have to arrange for their own accommodation or self-isolate in their homes.

The federal government equally faulted states in the Southeast for not testing enough for Covid-19, saying out of the nearly 80,000 tests conducted so far, only about 1, 625 persons have been tested in the region. On its part, the World Health Organization WHO has expressed concerns over the impact of Covid-19 on the growing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics.


Reopening schools
Minister of State Education, Hon. Emeka Nwajiuba who dismissed social media reports regarding when schools would be reopened said the government would only do that when medical experts give the nod to so do. Nwajiuba disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during the daily briefing of the Presidential Taskforce PTF on Covid-19.

He said; “You had about neighbouring countries that reopened and shut down again. You have heard about numbers spiking as a result of reopening the schools. Of all the things I would like to do, I wouldn’t want to experiment with your children.

“What we are planning is to actually bring in those exit years first as soon as those who are in charge of the blockade lift it because there is no way we can open our schools if teachers cannot come. So, we are looking at somewhere after when this interstate lockdown is lifted because we need to have that kind of openness for even the children to move”, he said.


Kano deaths
Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire who gave details of the Kano report, said about 50 to 60 percent of case fatalities were Covid-19 related. He said; “This morning, the Federal Ministry of Health received the report of the Ministerial Task Team that went to Kano, to support the COVID-19 response with commodities, training, technical and confidence-building measures.

The visit was extended to fact-finding excursions to offer support to five other states. With the observations and recommendations from the three-week assignment, the committee developed a Strategic Incident Action Plan to strengthen the coordination capacity of the health workers and improve community engagement in line with our response plan.

“While over 150 health workers had been infected at the time of their arrival, there was no report of infection among health workers who had received training on infection prevention and control, thus restoring confidence.

The intervention of the ministerial task force has been a game-changer for Kano and some northern States.

“With regard to unexplained deaths in Kano which occurred in April, the team confirmed from graveyard records, that a total of 979 deaths were recorded in 8 municipal LGA in the state at a rate of 43 deaths per day, with a peak in the second week of April. By the beginning of May, the death rate had reduced to 11 deaths per day it used to be.

The verbal autopsy revealed that about 56% of deaths had occurred at home while 38% were in a hospital. With circumstantial evidence as all to go by, investigation suggests that between 50-60% of the deaths may have been triggered by or due to COVID-19, in the face of preexisting ailments. Most fatalities were over 65 years of age”.

He said in the last 100 days since Covid-19 berthed in the country, Nigeria has tested over 76,800 persons, recorded 12,486 confirmed COVID-19 cases in 35 States and FCT, successfully treated and discharged 3,959 persons, but sadly lost 354 Nigerians, most of whom had underlying illnesses.


Precision actions
Chairman of the PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Mr. Boss Mustapha said the government is pursuing precision actions in 20 local government areas but did not exactly say whether the government would impose a full lockdown on the affected areas.

According to him, based on the current trend, science, and data as guiding beacons, it has become obvious that Nigeria has entered the community transmission phase.

“This has significantly helped in identifying 20 high burden LGAs that accounts for over 60% of infections in Nigeria. The PTF is already pursuing precision actions on these high burden LGAs.

It is therefore important for Nigerians to recognize the need to take responsibility and the significant role community ownership and risk communication will play in the future of our National Response”.

He said a great majority of Nigerians are still susceptible to COVIDー19, and that “if we allow it to transmit easily between us, it may be even more deadly. If everyone diligently observes the guidelines, we can collectively control the spread of the virus, and help to protect our health facilities as well as save lives”.

Mustapha also spoke on the visit of the PTF to the National Reference Laboratory in Gaduwa, Abuja, explaining that the shortage of reagents and supply chain issues are global issues because the entire world is seeking to purchase the same commodities.

“To the PTF, the motivation for action is to look inward, plan ahead, and develop our domestic capacities.

This is because COVID-19 is neither the first nor will it be the last pandemic. What is certain is that we must not allow the next pandemic to catch us unprepared”, he said. According to him, in the medium to long term, the federal government hopes to build a network of state public health laboratories that will bring about sustainability in public health response in Nigeria.



Psychological support
“Since the commencement of our National Response, a lot of priority has been given to physical health management of people who are affected. I am pleased to inform you that PTF has commenced the process of integrating a comprehensive psychological services programme into its activities. This will be for the benefit of people who are in isolation, the wellbeing of their families, and communities. In this regard, we wish to recognize the Federal Medical Center, Jabi, FCT for spearheading this drive, which shall inevitably assume a national dimension because of the importance of mental health”, the SGF said.



Southeast under-testing
Mustapha also stated that the Southeast was not testing enough, a situation he said would not allow the Taskforce to understand the extent of the spread of the virus in the region to make for adequate planning and provision. He said; “Of about 76, 800 plus of the number of tests that we have conducted, when I looked at the five southeastern states, they accounted for just 1,625 as of June 1.

That number is an indication of under-testing and it is a message that should go out to all the states. Do not under-test because when it will blow up on your face, you will get overwhelmed. So, begin to search now and test so that you know what eventually might come your way and you begin to prepare for it.

For all the states that have not been ramping up their tests, my advice to them is, ramp up your tests. Test and test and test. If you do not find, thank God for it. But begin to prepare as if you already have so that when it eventually comes, you won’t be taken by surprise”.

Country Representative of the World Health Organization WHO, Dr Fiona Braka said the Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics.

She said; “The Covid-19 pandemic has led to increased use of antibiotics which ultimately leads to higher bacterial resistance to it that will ultimately impact the burden of disease and deaths during the pandemic and beyond.

New anti-microbial resistance data released by the WHO shows that globally a worrying number of bacterial infections are increasingly resistant to the medicines at hand to treat them.

We also know that based on evidence, only a small proportion of Covid-19 patients need antibiotics to treat subsequent bacterial infections and the organization has released new clinical management guidance not to provide antibiotic therapy or prophylaxis to patients with mild Covid-19 or to patients with suspected or confirmed moderate Covid-19 illness unless there is a clinical indication to do so”.

Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control NCDC, Dr Chikwe Iheakwazu said Nigeria currently has reagents across its network of 30 laboratories that could be used to conduct 200, 000 Covid-19 tests.

He said at the end of the current pandemic, Nigerians will not return to a country with the kind of health security architecture that it had in the past, saying his team would have to learn from the pandemic and develop a new health security architecture for the future.

National Coordinator of the Taskforce, Dr. Sani Aliyu said evacuees would be tested before they are allowed to come into the country. On arrival, they would also be tested within 72 hours while they would bear the cost of their accommodation in either of Lagos or Abuja for the period of the test.

They would consequently be followed up for 14 days after which their international passports would be released to them.
Continue reading...

It will be difficult for children to maitain hygiene. Maybe tertiary institutions should first be opened before sec&pri.

I hope this is truth

I no even fit read am finish sef...

Nigeria is a joke