On the heels of the emergence of the Delta variant of coronavirus infection in the country and the rising number of new cases and hospitalisations, the Nigerian government has put six states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on a red alert.
The affected states are Lagos, Oyo, Rivers, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and the nation’s capital, FCT.
A statement which was issued early Sunday morning and signed by the chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee(PSC) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, stated that the nation has, in recent times, continued to witness worrisome early signs of the third wave of the pandemic.
Mr Mustapha, who is also the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), therefore, advised the concerned states and the country as a whole against losing their guards.
The PSC called on all States of the federations to heighten their state of preparedness and continue to enforce all protocols put in place, given the renowned greater ease of spread of the Delta variant. It is said that these steps are critical as there are worrisome early signs of increasing cases in Nigeria.
The statement also announced some recommendations to avoid the spread of infections during and after the celebration of the Islamic festival of Eid-el-Kabir which comes up on Tuesday, July 20 to include the decentralisation of the eid prayer on the day of the festival.
It said that large gatherings at community central prayer grounds should be avoided and instead, outside of the neighbourhood mosques where Friday prayers are usually said should be used for the eid prayer.
The PSC also wished all Muslim faithful peaceful celebrations.
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