From now on, in-bound passengers who fail to give the right phone numbers or give numbers they cannot be reached on for monitoring will face sanctions, including fines and imprisonment.
This was declared by the governor of Lagos State and the Incident Commander, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in a press statement on the update on COVID-19 management in Lagos State.
As dictated by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 (PSC), passengers from red-listed countries (India, South Africa, Brazil and Turkey) are required to observe mandatory isolation.
Sanwo-Olu said between 8th May 2021 and 7th July 2021, a total of 50,322 passengers of interest arrived in Lagos via the Murtala Mohammed Airport.
Of the 50,322 passengers, he said 18 per cent could not be reached by EKOTELEMED because of the provision of either wrong numbers or wrong Nigerian contact details to be reached on.
He said so far, the state has successfully isolated 2,386 passengers, out of which 15 per cent have absconded.
He said the state is considering as sanctions against defaulters revocation of Permanent Residency and deportation (if foreigners) and “prosecution to the full extent of the Lagos State COVID-19 Law” if Nigerians.
Giving epidemiology update, Sanwo-Olu said as at July 7, 2021, Lagos State had recorded a total of 60,202 confirmed cases of COVID-19, of which number 55,135 had recovered in-community and 770 are currently being managed actively in-community.
“Over the course of managing the COVID-19 pandemic, about 4,382 patients have been admitted into our various COVID-19 care centres in Lagos: with 357 registered fatalities. In all we have tested 563,679 samples in Lagos State since the pandemic started.
“Today we have 30 accredited testing centres: 26 private and four public health laboratories in the state, a significant improvement in capacity over the course of the past year,” he declared.
The Incident Commander stressed that outside of the health facilities accredited for the management and treatment of COVID-19, and the EKOTELEMED programme, no other health facilities, whether public or private, are permitted to admit or attend to COVID-19 patients.
He said the Lagos State Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) has been mandated to apply heavy fines and other punitive measures on all facilities found to be in violation of this.
Sanwo-Olu also enjoined residents of the state to desist from patronizing non-accredited COVID-19 treatment centres, whle proprietors should also ensure that all suspected and confirmed cases are referred appropriately.
He said one of the major tenets of the state’s mitigation strategy against the third wave of the virus is its vaccination campaign, but noted that as at today, the percentage of residents of Lagos who have received two doses of the vaccine stands at a mere one per cent.
“We recognise that this is not adequate, and given the imminent third wave, and our priority to reduce COVID-19 related deaths, we are exploring all avenues possible to ramp up access to vaccination so as to reach our herd immunity target of at least 60 per cent COVID-19 vaccination coverage of the population of Lagos State.
“We are confident that we will be getting a second batch of vaccines very soon, to kick-start the second phase of vaccinations,” he said.
The governor also warned against complacency, especially in churches and mosques and other places of religious worship.
“Even as we are pleased that religious houses are now open for worship, after the lengthy closures of 2020, we must not allow ourselves to be carried away by the illusion that all is now back to normal. This is especially critical, as Sallah approaches.
“The festivities will, no doubt, bring people together in large numbers and create conditions that can sadly cause the spread of the Coronavirus. We must not allow this to happen,” he warned.
He thanked all the members of the Incident Command Structure for their resilience in the management of “this never-ending pandemic,” and also the federal government, through the Presidential Steering Committee, for all its support and collaboration.
He added that Lagos State would continue to work with all partners, across government and the private sector, “to ensure that we permanently triumph over this virus. We will not rest until this is achieved.”