Health

Lai Mohammed fault NYSC for COVID-19 surge in camps

The National Youth Service Corps has been accused of breaching COVID-19 safety rules, resulting in an increase in coronavirus cases in NYSC camps across the country, according to Information Minister Lai Mohammed.

Mr Mohammed further alleged that the federal government had boosted COVID-19 testing, which resulted in more positive cases being reported.

“Two things are responsible for the high cases of pandemic reported at the National Youth Service Corps camps. One is because of consistent testing that has been taking place in the camps. The second reason for the high cases is that people have actually let down their guards,” Mr Mohammed stated. “We are no longer obeying non-pharmaceutical interventions such as the washing of hands regularly with soap and water or sanitising of hands when that (washing of hand) is not available.”

According to him, Nigerians are behaving as if COVID-19 is not real.

“Nigeria is already in the third wave, and this case has been compounded by Delta variant. We have identified the Delta variant in several states in Nigeria also. The Delta variant is about 60 times more potent than the wide COVID II,” explained Mr Mohammed. “It is very virulent, deadly, and more easily transmissible. It appears that while the normal variant will take about seven days to manifest, the Delta variant manifests within two days of being infected. So, it is a real challenge for us.”

However, he stated that the PSC is not resting on its laurels and is providing the required instructions to the national reaction team in order to combat the virus.

The second phase of the immunization campaign, according to the minister, would target persons aged 18 and up.

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Ihesiulo Grace

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