1,300 persons in contact with COVID-19 cases yet to be traced – Lai Mohammed

Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, has said over 1,300 persons said to have had contact with Coronavirus cases in the country are yet to be traced.

Mr Mohammed stated this on Monday while announcing that tougher measures to curtial the spread of the pandemic disease will be effective soon.

He said the government is yet to trace over 1,300 persons who have met with those who have currently tested positive to COVID-19, the official name of the zoonotic disease which originated from China.

He advised that those who have met with COVID-19 cases should willingly submit themselves to authority or risk being fished out by security agencies.

“We should be ready for tougher measures. The forms they will take will be out from the end of today or tomorrow. But Nigerians should be ready for tougher measures,” the minister announced at a press briefing in Abuja.

“If we don’t do proper contact tracing, the figure will multiply every five days. Nigerians must take ownership of this initiative.

“We won’t hesitate to use whatever measure to ensure that you do not endanger other Nigerians. Containment is
very cheaper than cure. A few people have helped. If you know you traveled recently, give yourself up to relevant agencies.

”If the situation warrants, we may be forced to use the police and the military for contact tracing. The police is already working on that. We don’t want the figure we have now to multiply. We should work towards containment which is cheaper,” he said.