By Grace Audu (HEALTH CORRESPONDENT)
Lagos state in Nigeria is witnessing a “possible third wave” of coronavirus infections, according to its governor, Sanwo-Olu.
Following the discovery of the highly infectious Delta form in an incoming traveller, he warned of fines or even imprisonment for anyone who breach the guidelines to contain the virus, and said Lagos state would scale up its vaccine effort.
According to Reuters, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has not been as hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as other parts of the continent, with just over 168,000 cases and 2,124 deaths confirmed since the outbreak began.
But the Nation’s Centre for Disease Control officials last week confirmed that they had detected the Delta variant, putting officials nationwide on alert. The NCDC did not say when the infected traveller had arrived.
“From the beginning of July, we started to experience a steep increase in the number of daily confirmed cases, with the test positivity rate going from 1.1% at the end of June 2021 to its current rate of 6.6% as at 8th of July 2021,” Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said in a statement. “The rapid increase within a week gives great cause for concern.”
The epicenter of Nigeria’s COVID-19 outbreak has been Lagos state, which is home to the commercial metropolis. Since the outbreak began, it has confirmed 60,366 cases, accounting for approximately 36% of the country’s total.
All incoming passengers must self-isolate, while arrivals from the red-list countries of Brazil, India, South Africa, and Turkey must quarantine in a government facility.
Sanwo-Olu, on the other hand, claimed that 15 percent of red-list arrivals in Lagos state had gone missing, while officials were unable to locate 18 percent of other incoming passengers.
He threatened rule breakers with penalties like as fines, incarceration, and deportation, and said Lagos was “exploring all possibilities imaginable” to boost vaccine access.
Only 1% of residents in Lagos state have taken two doses of the corona virus vaccinations.