COVID-19: FG Speaks on Fresh Lockdown, Warns Nigerians

The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has advised Nigerians to disregard talks of a fresh lockdown in the country that has been in circulation on social media.

National Coordinator of the PTF, Dr Sani Aliyu, made the declaration in a short video statement released on Thursday, saying the said lockdown alert is fake news.

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There have been talks and suggestions of a fresh lockdown following the second wave of the lethal virus in the country.

However, Dr Aliyu stated the government was cautious of the economic implication of a fresh lockdown and, called on Nigerians to strictly adhere to all recommended measures to curtail the spread of the disease.

“We are aware of a fake message on WhatsApp that we’ve declared a lockdown in the country. This is absolutely not true. I call on the Nigerian public to please ignore this message and continue with normal activities.

“I’m also calling on the public to abide by the non-pharmaceutical interventions including wearing of face masks in the public, washing of hands and maintaining physical distancing.

“There is an established way that we send our messages to the public including declarations when it comes to infection control. So, please ignore what is being going round on WhatsApp,” the PTF Chairman said.

Recall that the Nigerian government ordered a full lockdown on Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory for months following the outbreak of the virus in March 2020.

The move affected economic activities tremendously, with the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry pegging the loss at about N3bn in the period under review.

The lockdown also saw many Nigerians losing their jobs as airlines, hotels, banks, and other employers did downsize their workforce due to the crushing effect of the lockdown.