COVID-19: NCDC Reacts To Disorder, Violation Of Social Distancing In Lagos Banks

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Tuesday beamoned  the disorder and outright violation of the social distancing directive — and other measures put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 — in corporate institutions in Lagos.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, the director-general of the agency, blamed the corporate and financial organisation for what played out in Lagos on Monday, saying the institution should have been more forthcoming about the situation.

Despite the unsettling scenes at various places, especially in Lagos, on the first day of the lockdown relaxation, Ikekweazu maintained that the federal government was right in easing of the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and the federal capital territory (FCT).

Also read: “Social Distancing, Face Mask, 60% In A Bus” — Tracking Compliance Level As Economy Reopens In Lagos

After five weeks under a lockdown declared by President Muhammadu Buhari on March 30, restriction of movement in Lagos, Ogun and FCT was partially relaxed on Monday.

Eko Hot Blog had reported that many residents of these areas flagrantly defied the guidelines issued for the lockdown relaxation, as there was disregard for physical distancing, especially in banks and buses.

Speaking when he featured on Your view, a discussion programme on TVC, the NCDC helmsman said there was so much the federal government could do as corporate organisations were expected to take responsibility on crowd control

He added that the agency also relied on the discretion of Nigerians on limiting physical distancing, adding that the citizens also had a blame to share for what happened yesterday.

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“On our side, we don’t think it was a mistake. We knew at some point this day had to come, but we really expected Nigerians and corporate Nigeria to take a little bit more responsibility for what happened yesterday.

“There’s only so much government can do. We can issue lockdown, we can bring out the police, we can do so much. We rely on the common sense of most Nigerians; we rely on corporate Nigeria taking responsibility. This is not being done for NCDC or for the federal government. It’s not being done for the state government. It’s being done for us.

“So, we really are counting yesterday as an exception. Let’s take yesterday as a blip. Let’s see what happens today. Let’s see corporates that come out of their offices and organise the queues in front of their offices. Let’s see how many corporates organise their office spaces, actually put out their hand washing [facilities] and educate their staff on the changes that they need to do for themselves. All of us have to take responsibility.”

As of May 4, a total of 2,802 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in 34 states and the FCT.