The Minister for Federal Capital Territory, Musa Bello, has reacted to reports of some coronavirus patients who refused to visit treatment centres.
He said that the provisions of the law will be invoked against such patients.
According to a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the minister, Anthony Ogunleye, this was one of the decisions taken following a meeting of the FCT COVID-19 Emergency Response Team and the FCTA Management.
However, in a twitter thread on Thursday evening, Mr Bello stated that the recalcitrant patients will be mandated to visit the centres by the law.
“Following submissions that some COVID19 positive individuals are refusing to go to treatment centers & instead prefer to treat themselves at home, the FCTA will invoke the relevant laws that will enable it to mandatorily evacuate recalcitrant COVID19 patients to treatment centers,” he wrote.
Following submissions that some COVID19 positive individuals are refusing to go to treatment centers & instead prefer to treat themselves at home, the FCTA will invoke the relevant laws that will enable it to mandatorily evacuate recalcitrant COVID19 patients to treatment centers
— Mal. Muhd Musa Bello (@MuhdMusaBello) April 23, 2020
Also, Mr Bello announced that the Federal government has resolved that massive testing will be carried out in areas where community transmission has been established, including Mabushi, Gishiri and Utako, in order to prevent further spread of the virus within the communities.
He, however, appreciated the frontline health workers in the fight against the virus and urged all residents to join in the fight by adhering to all laid down measures which include observing social distancing, constant hand washing, observing stay-at-home directives and maintain respiratory hygiene.
As at the time of filing this report, Nigeria has recorded a total of 981 cases of the pandemic across twenty states including the FCT.
Although 197 patients have recovered and had been discharged, the disease, which originated from Wuhan in China, has killed 31 persons in Nigeria.
