President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday in his national address on the COVID-19 pandemic stated that the Federal Government has recruited hundreds of ad-hoc staff to man call centres and support tracing and testing efforts in Lagos and Abuja.
Buhari who was addressing the nation about four weeks after the first coronavirus case was recorded in the nation said this was part of the Federal Government’s goal to ensure all States have the right support and manpower to respond to the pandemic.
The coronavirus was first discovered in the city of Wuhan, China, in December 2019; while Nigeria recorded its first case on February 27, 2020.
“So far, in Lagos and Abuja, we have recruited hundreds of ad-hoc staff to man our call centres and support our tracing and testing efforts.
“I also requested, through the Nigeria Governors Forum, for all State Governments to nominate Doctors and Nurses who will be trained by the NCDC and Lagos State Government on the tactical and operational response to the virus in case it spreads to other states.”
Lagos and Abuja are the two states with the most cases of the virus. Based on the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) released-report late Sunday, there are now 111 confirmed cases of the virus in the country.
“Fourteen new cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Nigeria; 9 in Lagos and 5 in FCT
“As at 09:30 pm 29th March there are 111 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria with 1 death,” the Centre stated.
Based on the new reported cases, the epicentre of the virus, Lagos State, now has 68 confirmed cases; FCT- 21; Ogun- 3; Enugu- 2; Ekiti- 1; Oyo- 7; Edo- 2; Bauchi- 2; Osun- 2; Rivers- 1; Benue- 1; and Kaduna- 1.
Buhari also noted that; “The few confirmed cases outside Lagos and Abuja are linked to persons who have travelled from these centres.
“We are therefore working to ensure such interstate and intercity movements are restricted to prevent further spread.”
