The National Economic Council (NEC) has not ruled out the possibility of a second lockdown as the nation is experiencing a second wave of Covid-19 cases.
The NEC in its virtual NEC meeting expressed alarm at recent rising numbers of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) across the country, instructing stricter enforcement of all earlier prescribed prevention measures, including the non-pharmaceutical interventions, to tame the surge.
While enlarging the membership of its Ad-Hoc Committee on COVID-19 and mandating it to urgently come up with additional measures to deal with the spike in cases, NEC noted that “the country is now experiencing a huge resurgence of COVID-19 patients needing intensive care and the existing health facilities are fast becoming overwhelmed.”
Briefing State House correspondents after a virtual NEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the governor of Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong said lockdown will be the last resort in the wake of a second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was resolved that proper measures should be taken again with very strict observation of the protocols and observation of some of the conditions that were laid; otherwise, we are going to move into a situation where it will be very uncontrollable.
“And for that, states were advised to go back and emphasis the implementation or the enforcement of some of the protocols that we have earlier started in the first phase. Otherwise, we have to resort to the last aspect, of course everybody knows, going back to lockdown again which is not anybody’s doing.
“But then, let’s all go back and observe most of the protocols that we have to curtail the further spread of COVID-19,’’ he said.
