The Federal Government says over four thousand Nigerians have been exposed to Coronavirus cases in the country.
The minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, stated this at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday.
This is coming days after the minister claimed that over one thousand Nigerians said to have met with coronavirus cases are yet to tender themselves for medical assessment.
“We have 4,370 people of interest whom we are tracing. We urge those who have had contact with suspected cases to immediately report to the authorities. We urge Nigerians to support the authorities in this regard,” Mr Mohammed said.
“We are on the verge of reaching the level of community spread. We must stop this immediately or we will record exponential cases in the days ahead. There is no better way to say this.
“Let me say, without mincing words, that we are not getting the kind of cooperation that this moment deserves from Nigerians. Many are busy engaging in meaningless criticisms instead of complying with the stipulated directives to keep people safe.
”Some Nigerians who flew into the country from overseas filled wrong addresses and phone numbers in their forms, making it difficult to trace them when the need arises.
“Some Nigerians defied orders to stay away from large gatherings while some religious leaders willfully flouted the directives to ensure social distancing.
“The government is doing its best but we need the citizens to do their best too. We have now gone past the stage of persuasion. It’s time for strong enforcement,” he added.
Mohammed also described as fake news the speculation on social media that President Muhammadu Buhari has shown symptoms of the pandemic disease.
