Ashiru expressed the fear that the third wave of the
COVID-19 pandemic may soon be upon the country if precautionary measures are
not taken, even though for now, transmission generally remains low in the
country compared to other climes.
Ashiru, while fielding questions on ARISE NEWS Channel, said
the virus was fast mutating and had multiplied into variants, that must be
quickly checked.
He stated that India, like Nigeria, has almost the same
climatic conditions and had the same infection pattern with Nigeria, until
recently when the level of infections rose to a daily rate of over 350,000
daily.
According to him, Nigeria does not have the capacity to cope
if the India strain comes into the country through the airports that service Nigeria
from India, since there are no direct flights from the country.
"There's no direct flight from India, so flights are
coming in from Ethiopia and other places. We need to watch our airports and we
need to temporarily halt operations not for more than two weeks just to assess
what's going on," he said.
He called for firmness in the handling of the pandemic,
adding that government needs to follow science in tackling the virus.
He stated that Canada for instance has banned flights from
India, adding that the new strain of the virus is highly transmissible and
therefore Nigeria should not lose guard.
Ashiru asked Nigeria to do away with the Very Important
Persons (VIP) syndrome if it must win the war against the virus, and expressed
concern that Nigerians now go around like COVID-19 no longer exists.
He said the situation had become more critical because
Nigeria was not buying vaccines, but waiting for free jabs, unlike other
countries actively purchasing and stocking vaccines. He stated that beyond media
appearances, members of the group are also on the presidential task force and
therefore consulting with the government.
He also called on the federal government to be proactive in
dealing with the pandemic.
Ashiru expressed wonder that Nigerians have started partying
and behaving like the virus has been defeated by breaking all the COVID-19
protocols like social distancing and washing of hands.
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