Buhari extends lockdown in Lagos, Ogun, Abuja by two weeks, as trained 7,000 healthcare workers set to tackle coronavirus

President Muhammadu Buhari has extended the lockdown imposed on Lagos, Ogun States and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by two weeks, emphasizing that coronavirus case is not a joke, but a matter of life and death.

Penpushing reports that, Buhari made the extension announcement on Monday in a televised broadcast, stressing that this became necessary to further check the spread of the ravaging virus which has infected 323 people in Nigeria and caused 10 deaths.

The President disclosed that, the two weeks extension commences from Monday night and appealed to Nigerians to obey the directive and others by various state governments, stressing, “this is not a joke. It is a matter of life and death”

Penpushing further reports that, Buhari said the Nigerian government has trained 7,000 healthcare workers in a bid to curb the disease in the country, adding that  the government has implemented comprehensive health measures  within period of lockdown imposed on Lagos, Ogun and Abuja.

The President had earlier on March 29 during  imposed a two-week lockdown on Lagos, Ogun and Abuja to check the spread of the coronavirus, adding that, “as a result of the overwhelming support and cooperation received, we were able to achieve a lot during these 14 days of initial lockdown,”

“We implemented comprehensive public health measures that intensified our case identification, testing, isolation and contact tracing capabilities. To date, we have identified 92 per cent of all identified contacts while doubling the number of testing laboratories in the country and raising our testing capacity to 1,500 tests per day’.

“We also trained over 7,000 healthcare workers on infection prevention and control while deploying NCDC teams to 19 states of the federation. Lagos and Abuja today have the capacity to admit some 1,000 patients each across several treatment centres.

“Many state governments have also made provisions for isolation wards and treatment centres. We will also build similar centers near our airports and land borders. Using our resources and those provided through donations, we will adequately equip and man these centres in the coming weeks’.

‘ Already, health care workers across all the treatment centers have been provided with the personal protective equipment that they need to safely carry out the care they provide. Our hope and prayers are that we do not have to use all these centres. But we will be ready for all eventualities,” he said.