COVID-19: NCDC gives update on relaxing lockdown

Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has given reason the lockdown will not be called off anytime soon.

Ihekweazu, who spoke at the presidential task force briefing on COVID-19 on Friday, said due to the increasing number of cases in the country, exiting the lockdown phase will take a while.

Calling on Nigerians to be patient as efforts are being made to ensure the eradication of the virus and to restore normalcy, the NCDC boss admitted that the lockdown was having negative effects on the economy.

According to him, there is need to be patient with the lockdown in order to ensure a safe and healthy society when the economy would be reopened.

He said, “We will eventually exit this stage and restart our normal life but that stage is still a while to come and I ask for your endurance, support and patience. Lots of efforts are going on across the world to find new therapy, to find vaccines.”

Ihekweazu further stated that the NCDC are working hard to reach a point where some measures can be relaxed adding that an unprecedented level of caution is needed to continue to carry out these preventive measures.

He maintained that the sacrifices of Nigerians are recognized and to achieve the goal we have to encourage each other to continue to a position where some of the lockdown can be relaxed