The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has called on security agencies to work alongside religious bodies to enforce the safety protocols during the festive season.
This followed a decline in compliance with the safety measures against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The call by the NCDC was contained in a directive in Abuja on Friday.
This was as the centre disclosed during a virtual interactive session with journalists in Abuja on Friday that 45 cases of the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus had so far been detected in the country. It added that the first Omicron case was detected in a sample on November 9, 2021.
The variant, which was first detected in South Africa and Botswana, has spread to other countries.
The NCDC, in a fresh directive signed by its Director-General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, said, “The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, the Federal Ministry of Health as well as the NCDC and its partners are intensifying communication efforts to remind Nigerians of the risk we face and the need to take collective responsibility to reduce the transmission of the virus.
“Security agencies are also encouraged to ensure consistency of the messages to the community, as generated by relevant authorities as well as identify the right channels of communication. These include the Federal Ministry of Health, state Ministries of Health and the NCDC.
“Information and feedback should also be shared with relevant authorities to influence decision-making and strategies. We urge security personnel to be aware of the high risk of spread of COVID-19 and the great risk of exposure occasioned by their jobs and to ensure that they are fully vaccinated, including booster doses.”
The NCDC, a few days ago, declared that Nigeria had slipped into a fourth wave of the pandemic following a 500 per cent increase in cases in the past two weeks.
“The first known case of the B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on November 9, 2021. As of December 20, 2021, a total of 13,758 sequencings have been uploaded on GISAID. In Africa, countries reporting the Omicron are South Africa, 1,296; Botswana, 291; Nigeria, 45; Ghana, 40; Malawi, three; Rwanda, two; and Senegal, one,” it said.
The Boss Mustapha-led Presidential Steering Committee announced a limit on religious gatherings and threatened to introduce more restrictions following an increase in cases.
The directive partly read, “Since the onset of the pandemic, security agencies have played a critical role in the national and sub-national response, most critically in supporting the implementation of public health policies as instituted by the Federal Government of Nigeria. This includes the COVID-19 Health Protection Regulations 2021 which makes provision for the enforcement of the implementation of existing guidelines on mass gathering and adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in the country.
“There is generally poor compliance with the NPIs across the country and this has continued even into this Yuletide, which, in combination with low coverage of COVID-19 vaccination, is a recipe for a big surge in cases and admission to treatment centres.
“As celebrations for Christmas and the New Year commence, the NCDC urges security personnel to work with heads of communities, associations, institutions, religious bodies and other key stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of existing public health policies and regulations. The virus that causes COVID-19 including the Omicron variant, which is rapidly spreading across the globe and within Nigeria, is more likely to spread when people gather and do not adhere to COVID-19 preventive measures.”
The NCDC Director-General said the Omicron and Delta variants were responsible for the recent surge in cases.
Speaking during the virtual interactive session, Adetifa noted that the country was experiencing community transmission of the variant.
Adetifa noted that Omicron had raised the number of confirmed cases in the country to 500 per cent, adding that the variant had become the dominant variant in the country.
The NCDC boss said the country had identified 39 additional cases of the Omicron variant, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 45.
He said, “The 39 additional detected Omicron variants were people without travel history, rather they were in-country, which suggested that the country is already experiencing a community transmission.
“The six earlier detected Omicron cases were detected in persons with recent travel history to South Africa.”
Adetifa however stressed that it was important for Nigerians to maintain physical distancing and avoid contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness.
“We are counting on you to #CelebrateResponsibly and #TakeResponsibility to keep yourself and your loved ones safe from COVID-19,” he urged.
The Presidential Steering Committee on Thursday announced restrictions on religious gatherings, limiting indoor gatherings to 50 per cent capacity while adding that more restrictions might be introduced following an increase in cases.
Adetifa said as of Friday, Nigeria had not recorded any death from the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
