…….As PTF Frowns At Attacks On Frontline Health Workers
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The federal government has charged state governments to take advantage of the 435 hospitals and clinics offered by the Catholic Church nationwide to augment the depleting bed spaces at treatment centres.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic, Mr Boss Mustapha, gave the advice during Monday’s daily media briefing by the task force in Abuja.
It would be recalled that the PTF had last week raised concerns over reports of inadequate bed spaces and accommodation in treatment centres, especially in states designated as high burdened with the COVID-19 outbreak.
However, during his opening speech at the day’s briefing, Mustapha charged state governments to reach out to the Catholic authorities in their states and state making use of the hospitals, which were offered by the church, through the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), a couple of weeks ago.
He also charged the governors to take advantage of the offer by the Nigeria Institute of Architects to give free services across the country to help with projects that were COVID-19 related.
“As part of efforts to support the States in the establishment of the Isolation and treatment centres, I wish to remind our Governors that the Catholic Bishops Conference has volunteered all the 425 hospitals and clinics nationwide for adaptation and use as isolation centres. Governors are encouraged to please approach Catholic Bishops in their states to access these facilities.
“As a further cost-effective measure, I also wish to remind subnational authorities that the Nigeria Institute of Architects has pledged the pro-bono services of their members to modify design and supervise all COVID-19 related projects nationwide. Again, we urge that this offer be taken up speedily,” he said.
The SGF expressed federal government’s displeasure with reports of attacks on frontline healthcare workers, mostly by those they had agreed to take care of and save from death and charged state governments to take the matter seriously and prevent further occurrence of such situations.
“The PTF has also continued to receive, rather sadly, reports about challenges facing the frontline health workers. They have received threat to lives, experienced detention by patients they are actually nursing to health and suffered other forms of harassment.
“Let me underscore the fact that these frontline workers constantly put their lives on the line to make sure persons infected are provided with the best care possible to enable them become healthy citizens again.
“It is therefore inhuman and unacceptable that patients engage in acts of locking them up and making demands that these frontline officers, most of the time do not have the capacity to address. The PTF COVID 19 views such behavior as reprehensible and should be deprecated. We call on all State governments to take this up appropriately,” he charged.
He also informed of plans to involve all tiers of governance, to the community level, in managing and curtailing the spread of the disease, calling on all traditional and religious leaders to be ready to play roles in new and upcoming regulations.
“On the overall, the PTF is identifying and assessing all low to medium and high burden areas with a view to assessing and modifying our strategy. This will involve drilling down from all tiers of government to community level.
“This mention serves as a notice to traditional religious and community leaders to brace up for deeper involvement as we develop the protocols to strengthen community ownership in the National Response,” he said.
While assuring that COVID-19 was not a death sentence, he warned that relaxing the lockdown order should not be taken as a license to resume the pre-COVID-19 way of life, which he said could be dangerous to the gains of the past few weeks’ sacrifice.
“The eased restrictions must therefore not become an excuse for us to lead the lives we were used to, pre-COCID-19 days. I wish to re-iterate that the world today has completely changed from what we used to know and if we want to continue living the old ways, the cost would be enormous.
“Contracting COVID-19 is not a death sentence but disregarding the guidelines for its avoidance, as guided by experts, is a costly self-voyage. Unfortunately, such choices cannot be made by individuals but the collective and we are all resolute in stamping this scourge out of Nigeria.
“While we continue to work on all options, the PTF wishes to repeat the dangers inherent in lack of compliance with guidelines issued. We must always remind Nigerians that Mr. President took a painful and difficult decision to ease the restrictions by approving revised measures that will maintain a balance between the safety of Nigerians and giving them the opportunity for some level of economic activities, that will sustain their means of livelihood especially, the poor and vulnerable who depend on daily means of subsistence,” he said.
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