The Nigerian Government has threatened to impose a fresh lockdown on the country should the current spike in the rate of Covid-19 infections continue.
Sani Aliyu, National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, issued the threat in Abuja at a media briefing on Thursday.
This stance is at variance with an earlier position of the government disclosed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Monday, who said that the government had no plans to impose a fresh lockdown as the country.
Nigeria has in recent weeks been experiencing an increase in the number of Covid infections, giving rise to concerns among authorities and regulatory agencies.
Aliyu said the rising Covid infections were worrisome and might require a fresh lockdown.
“On 6th of January 2021, we recorded 1,664 infections. This is yet another all-time high in Nigerian and we must all take full responsibility through compliance and vigilance.”
“If these numbers continue to go up and we start having significant deaths, we will have no option. If we do not want to lock down, now is the time to make sure that we follow the non-pharmaceutical interventions,” he said.
