Covid-19 second wave: No plan to impose another lockdown –Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has reassured that the Federal Government has no plan to impose another lockdown on Nigeria as the country continues to struggle with the second wave of the coronavirus challenge.
Mohammed spoke during a conference in Lagos, urging Nigerians to comply with all protocols stipulated by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, as adhering to it is the only way to win the war against the dreaded pandemic.

According to him: “On the issue of lockdown, I don’t think there is any time when the Federal Government has said it is going to have a second lockdown. However, the Federal Government is very unhappy that Nigerians are not adhering to the basic Covid-19 protocols of wearing face masks, or practicising social distancing, of washing hands, of ensuring that they do gather in large numbers.

“If we do not do these, the surge will continue and with the new strain of Covid-19 which is becoming much more difficult to handle than the old strain, the Federal Government will continue to insist and encourage Nigerians to please obey the Covid-19 protocols.

“The Federal Government is aware of the economic and social implications of a second lockdown but we want to call on Nigerians to help us, help themselves and help the economy, by adhering strictly to the Covid-19 protocols.”

It will be recalled that the Federal Government had in March 2020 imposed curfew on the Federal Capital Territory as well as Lagos and Ogun States for over five weeks as part of efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic. The curfew had had a tremendous scar on economic activities with the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry putting the loss at about N3bn in the period under consideration.

Although lots of jobs were also lost as airlines, hotels, banks, amongst others cut down their workforce owning to the excruciating impact of the virus.