Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Government has blamed the low daily testing of Nigerians for COVID-19 on the failure of citizens to come out for the test.
Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVIDF-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, stated this at yesterday’s briefing.
He said everything needed to fight COVID-19 had been made available in the country, but the greatest challenge in fighting the pandemic was the attitude of Nigerians. He said though Nigeria now had the infrastructure to test up to 15,000 per day, daily records show that tests done for now were between 3,000 and 6,000.
The SGF said the pandemic curve would have been flattened if Nigerians had adhered to simple safety instructions.
He said the ambitious target of achieving two million COVID-19 tests within three months between May and July 2020, was not met.
He said there was need for Nigerians to take advantage of the improved testing infrastructure and get tested for COVID-19.
He emphasised the unpredictable nature of the virus, adding that it had been more devastating with populations that had failed to take to advice on precautions, highlighting the viciousness of its unpredictable nature with the surge in case records in Plateau State in the last 24 hours.
“So far, our national response has shown that Nigeria is following the science through effective case management, but need to improve our testing. Our testing infrastructure has been increased to undertake up to 15,000 tests per day but we are currently testing between 3,000 to 6,000 daily due mainly to people still not subjecting themselves for testing. I, therefore, want to seize this opportunity to enjoin Nigerians to get tested.
“The corona virus continues to display unpredictable characteristics that show its relentless nature on populations that disregard common and simple protective measures. Such behaviour has been amplified in the surge in some states of the United States of America. Similarly, this unpredictability is reflected in the last 24-hours when Plateau State witnessed the highest daily number of confirmed cases.
“This call becomes more imperative when we realise that from an initial 10 hotspot local government areas in the country, we moved to 16 and now have 20 of such, indicating spread to other areas.”