The Federal Government is considering lockdown in Abuja, Lagos, as well as Plateau States.
This was disclosed by the National Incident Manager of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF), Mukhtar Muhammed, on Friday, who described the rising cases of coronavirus infections recorded in the three states as alarming.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, Muhammed said amid the second wave of the virus infection, data shows urban local governments in the affected places have recorded the highest cases in Nigeria.
He said the Federal Government wants economic activities to continue but these activities must be in a regulated fashion.
According to data by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Lagos has recorded 46,935 cases, Abuja has recorded 16,470 cases, while Plateau has recorded 7,801.
When asked of the possibility of a targeted lockdown and not a total lockdown based on data of hotspot areas, Muhammed said, “That is exactly what we did, we have been analyzing the data and we have been looking at the geographical areas that have been most affected and the different age groups.”
“Certainly, even if we are going to have a lockdown, it is not going to be a total lockdown. A couple of weeks back, we analyzed the data and we identified the hotspot local government areas.
“Mostly, the areas affected are the urban local governments in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Plateau. Even in most other states, it is the urban areas that are involved. So, if we are going to have any restriction, it will be in these areas.”