Featured, Health
By Benprince Ezeh
OSAGIE Ehanire, minister of health, has urged Nigerians who intend to travel for the festive season to stay where they are. He says it’s for the safety of Nigerians due to the increase in Covid-19 cases recently.
The minister, who made the call in a press briefing at the Presidential Task Force, PTF on Covid-19 on Thursday, December 17 in Abuja, said that unless you have an urgent reason to travel and not to go visiting, unless absolutely necessary. “The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases continues to rise with the total number now 75,062 as of this morning.
“A record number of 930 confirmed cases were diagnosed yesterday, December 16, the highest daily number recorded since the virus was detected in February 2020. This is what we have warned about for many weeks, and it gives cause to worry, not only about the causes but also about the course of events, as they unfold.
“As the festive season and holidays approach, many people will want to celebrate, many will enter crowded shops, markets and places of worship, many plan to travel with mass transit transport, and many even travel to Nigeria, from high burden countries. These are all circumstances that are proven around the world, to accelerate Covid-19 transmission and have caused explosive increases in Covid-19 cases in other countries. I urge all of you to stay where you are unless you have an urgent reason to travel and not to go visiting, unless absolutely necessary,” he said.
According to him, our epidemiological trend has already started to show that the Covid -19 curve is rising again with the total number of active cases now 7,087. “A corresponding increase in the number of serious cases requiring hospital admission in High Dependency Units for oxygen therapy, or mechanical ventilation support in Intensive Care Units. If we include those in hospital for observation, the need for more hospital beds will become more acute. This is an indication of what the second wave is like. Each and every one of us has a key role to play in confronting it. This is not a job for government alone.
“Following this new Covid-19 surge, the ministry of health is working with Federal Tertiary hospitals on reactivating treatment centres, assessing resources needed and available, and alerting health workers to be on standby.
“We are strengthening the Covid-19 homecare treatment protocol for asymptomatic and mild cases and community-based care, as designed by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, in management of asymptomatic, mild, and moderate cases. We have also commenced inventory taking and we plan to distribute a wide range of resources from our warehouses, according to needs.
“Our Technical Working Group of the Federal Ministry of Health on Covid-19 is examining modalities to obtain access to vaccines for Nigeria. We are in conversation with WHO-GAVI on the COVAX- AMC facility to support 180 lower and lower-middle-income countries to access anti-Covid vaccines.
“At a presentation to Ministers of Health of the ECOWAS region today, under the auspices of West African Health Organization, WAHO, the Regional Director of World Health Organization, WHO, informed us that only 20% of the quantity of anti-COVAX vaccines they envisaged, has been assured, for Low and Lower Middle-Income countries to share, because high-income countries have secured first rights to vaccines for their citizens, and in some cases, for double their population.
“We join the African Union, AU, in appealing for fair and equitable access to vaccines but also set up an African Vaccine Acquisition Team, AVAT, aiming to acquire vaccines for up 60% of the population.
“We continue to closely follow matters related to vaccine development and have held talks with representatives of vaccine developers to work on additional and alternative sources to meet our national vaccine security needs. Nigeria will expect to use a mix of public, private and external funds to finance our vaccine needs,” the minister said.
Ehanire also disclosed that the fourth meeting of ECOWAS Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Covid-19 held on Thursday, of which President Muhammadu Buhari is the ECOWAS champion, applauded the decision of the Federal Government to reopen four land borders, but also recommended easing cross border travel and trade protocols in the ECOWAS sub-region, including, a proposal to set a uniform rate for pre-travel COVID-19 testing for travels within the ECOWAS Region.
“The National Blood Transfusion Service, NBTS, of the Federal Ministry of Health launched the National Blood Transfusion Strategy yesterday, to focus on a more efficient blood service system for Nigeria and to set up a robust, regulatory framework for voluntary non-remunerated Blood Donation.
“Our goal is a strategic Safe Blood Reserve ensuring the availability of up to one million units of blood at any time. I shall remind everyone that we are already at the beginning of another phase of this pandemic and it is vital that we remember our civic responsibilities, if we are to respond decisively to prevent catastrophic resurgence.
“I, therefore, urge all citizens to play their part by adhering to cheap, very simple non-pharmaceutical measures, such as appropriate wearing of face masks, use of alcohol-based sanitizers and most especially, physical distancing. Being in a crowd and not wearing a mask strongly increases your risk of contracting Covid-19, with higher risks for persons, especially 50 years and above, and those with co-morbidities such as hypertension, diabetes and other chronic diseases,” he said.
With regard to proper nutrition in the midst of disease threats, the minister noted that it is always of great benefit for citizens to fortify their immune defence systems by improving their diet with a regular intake of fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables.
– Dec. 17, 2020 @ 14: 35 GMT /
Tags: COVID-19: Minister urges Nigerians to avoid travelling for festive season
