The Governor of Lagos State Babajide Sanwo-Olu considering another lockdown due to the expansion in the coronavirus
The coronavirus in Nigeria has increased to 23,298 and this was confirmed on Friday, June 26, 2020, the total number of confirmed cases of which is Lagos recording the highest number of cases.
As of Friday According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Lagos recorded 9,741 cases of the virus.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi states on Friday that Lagos will not hesitate to consider another lockdown should the case of the pandemic go out of hand.
He further said, ”We believe we are managing a fragile equilibrium between the public health crisis and the economic livelihood of Lagosians. If things are getting out of hand, we will certainly consider another lockdown”.
Abayomi elaborated that Lagos State has not yet reached the pinnacle of the pandemic and the number of cases will continue to rise in the next one or two months. ”We are in the middle of the outbreak and we have not apex yet, and so the cases are still rising. We still expect to see a lot more cases in the next month to come. I’m using this platform to remind Lagosians that we have not yet peaked and Lagos is still going through the active community transmission of the deadly COVID-19.
He went on, ”I think what has given us a false sense of security or confidence is that we say most people have bland to moderate disease. While that may be so, between three and five percent of Lagosians that catch this virus has an extremely severe to a critical form of COVID-19 and the risk of dying in that percentage is extremely high”.
Abayomi also appealed that the Lagosians should observe social distancing and other measures put in place to limit the spread of the virus in the country.
While urging people with underlying medical conditions to stay safe, Abayomi said the state government is not prepared to lose about 250,000 residents of the state to the pandemic. ”The percentage of two to five may appear as a small percentage, but even one percent of 25 million people is a lot of Lagosians. We are not prepared to lose 250,000 Lagosians and we certainly will not even like to ponder that number.
”So I’m pleading the masses, especially those of us who are in the weak category; like those over the age of 50 or 55 with underlying medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity or any other medical condition that interferes with their immune system, they are extremely vulnerable to COVID-19.
And the young people may be going out there with bland to moderate disease but they certainly go home in the evening and expose their parents and grandparents to the vulnerabilities.
So I appeal to Lagosians, keep practicing the social distancing measures and I hope these practices will help to flatten the curve and protect certain vulnerable members of the community!
