The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 says 65 per cent of in-country passengers flout flight protocols and the guidelines put in place by Federal Government.
Speaking at the PTF daily briefing monitored on Monday in Abuja, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha disclosed that the task force was deeply saddened by the development.
“The PTF has noted with sadness the failure of Nigerians who arrived from abroad to present themselves for the in-country PCR test which they signed up to and paid before arrival. Statistics emerging from our records show that only one out of three passengers have shown up for the in-country test.
“As you may recall, the PTF announced the guidelines on the reopening of the airspace and the obligations of arriving passengers. The PTF similarly announced sanctions as a consequence of any infraction,” he said.
He threatened that the task force could be forced to introduce stricter punitive measures if the trend of arbitrary violation of COVID-19 guidelines continues.
“Having observed serious non-compliance to the level of 65%, the need has arisen to activate the sanctions which include the suspension of the passports of such defaulting individuals for six months minimum,” he said.
Mustapha also warned against complacency, warning that the second wave of the pandemic ravaging countries globally was imminent.
“The PTF at the last briefing cautioned on the need to avoid complacency on account of the low number of infections published daily and the possibility of a second wave. That advice was premised on the fact that risk perception remains very low and sample collection has been on the decline.
“In the midst of all these, the nation has experienced several large gathering events during which the non-pharmaceutical interventions were not really observed. The situation in Europe and the reports from the USA showing the consequences of non-adherence are quite vivid.
“The PTF is highlighting these issues repeatedly because we remain at risk of importation, having opened our airspace and massive spread as a result of the protests. The next week or two remain critical,” he said.
In the same vein, the secretary to the state government disclosed that the PTF has reduced its weekly activities, including meetings and national media briefing.
He emphasised that PTF briefings would henceforth hold just once in a week from next Thursday, noting that there could also be off-schedule activities.
He attributed the reason to the need for members of the task force to devote attention to other pressing issues, especially now that more public activities had been reactivated.
“Finally, I wish to inform you that the PTF has revised its meeting and briefing frequency to once a week, to allow members to carry out other functions and activities.
“This does not preclude the need to call for emergency meetings and briefings when the need arises. With effect from Thursday, 5th November 2020 therefore, the national briefing will only hold once, weekly,” he said.