12th October, 2020
By Nimot Adetola Sulaimon
Mr Boss Mustapha, Chairman, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has said that Nigerians should anticipate a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
He mentioned this in a task force briefing of the taskforce in Abuja on Monday.
“We wish to reiterate that federating units have the responsibility of determining the dates and modalities for the safe reopening, while the Federal Government provides the guidelines.”
Mustapha, who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), said that the picture across the world on COVID-19 pandemic showed that Nigerians should not lower their guard.
“The PTF is glad that the economy is opening up the more but warns that as we continue to study developments in Europe and other parts of the world, no nation can be said to be immune to a possible second wave if the guidelines and protocols are not adhered to strictly.
“Nigerians need to anticipate this and prepare. Our hope and prayers are that it shall never happen.
“For our proper information and guidance, the picture from around the world can be summarised as follows:
“Over the last few days, global cases crossed the 37 million mark. In the UK, cases have been on the increase, and the 5th highest number of daily cases was recorded on Sunday, Oct. 11th with 12,872 cases.
“Similarly, Brazil’s caseload has also continued to increase with the registration of a daily caseload of over 65,000 on the October 11,” he said.
The chairman added that on the African continent, 8,987 cases were reported from 34 countries in the last 24 hours.
This, he said, had led to a cumulative total case count of 1,587,276, including 38,167 deaths, with the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) standing at 2.4 per cent.
He said that Nigeria maintains the 5th position (60,266) in the highest cumulative cases after South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, and Ethiopia.
NAN