‘Comply with COVID-19 protocols to avert fresh lockdown,’ Presidency urges Nigerians

The Presidency on Sunday urged Nigerians to continue to observe the COVID-19 protocols in order to avert fresh lockdown in the country.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, who made the call in a statement in Abuja, was reacting to the increasing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Saturday confirmed 1,883 COVID-19 cases in the country.

The new cases brought the number of people that had contracted the virus in Nigeria to 130, 557, and 1, 578 fatalities.

Shehu said the presidency was worried by reports of non-compliance with the COVID-19 regulations including compulsory use of face masks and social distancing in the public.

He appealed to Nigerians to cooperate with the government to ensure the success of the policy aimed at tackling the pandemic in the country.

READ ALSO: 1,883 new COVID-19 cases take Nigeria’s total to 130,557. Deaths, recoveries updated

.The statement read: “The Buhari administration is most reluctant to lock down the country and continues to emphasise the non-pharmaceutical measures, and the only way to avert lockdowns is to observe these measures as put in place by the Presidential Task Force.

“Nigerians have come a long way from the dreaded lockdown and the administration is unhappy about any prospects of bringing it back as many citizens will not have food on the table without venturing out on a day-to-day business.

“Nigerians are required to wear masks, wash hands regularly with soap and clean water, and keep a safe distance from anybody not in your household, hoping that this will help check the spread of COVID-19.

“Though vaccine availability is within reach, the propensity of the public for non-compliance weakens the fight against the virus.

“Nigerians must ignore baseless conspiracy theories that seek to deny the reality of the pandemic by complying with the order to wear masks.”

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