Doris Obinna
Lagos Government has stressed the need for residents to strictly adhere to precautionary measures against COVID-19 to prevent a recurrence of the pandemic and possible lockdown of the state.
Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, yesterday, reiterated that many countries and cities were experiencing a second and third wave of the pandemic with a resultant spike in the number of cases and fatalities.
He said several countries have found it necessary to impose a second lockdown and restriction of movements, which have significant socioeconomic and security consequences.
Worried that the COVID-19 safety culture of face mask use, social distancing and hand hygiene was gradually waning among citizens, Abayomi called for the reinforcement of the adoption and adherence of the various preventive measures put in place by the state government to tackle the spread of the pandemic.
He warned that the continuous flagrant disregard of safety guidelines portends danger and may lead to a second wave of new infections in Lagos. He advised against unnecessary movement and social gatherings, unless it was absolutely necessary, stressing that travelling in and outside the country should be discouraged except when absolutely necessary.
“The erroneous belief that COVID-19 has been conquered and is no more in Nigeria should be discarded. Based on our data, this assumption is invalid. It creates a false sense of security amongst citizens causing many to abandon the use of face masks and other safety measures and protocols put in place by the government.
“Though we have reached our peak as predicted and are now experiencing a decline in number of positive cases, this is not a reason to conclude that all is over. COVID-19 is still very much with us as evidenced in the number of cases being recorded in the community daily and occasional deaths from severe complications.
“The reason for the decline in COVID-19 cases in Lagos is attributable to a number of factors, including public adherence to safety regulations of physical and social distancing, hand hygiene, use of face mask in public places, expanded testing strategy and contact tracing, among others, and this is the more reason why citizens should not relent in this regard if we don’t want to experience a second wave of the disease,” he said.