Our lives won’t be same again after coronavirus, says presidential task force

Following the the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent measure to contain it, the lives of Nigerians can never be the same again.

The chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, made this assertion at the briefing of the task force in Abuja on Friday.

Speaking against the Workers Day celebration, he said efforts would be made to return life to a semblance of normalcy.

He said: “The atmosphere for this year’s celebration, more than anything else, forcefully reminds us of the disruption to our hitherto normal way of life and challenges us not only as workers but also as citizens and to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to return to a semblance of normalcy. The reality is that our lives, the way we knew it, can never be the same again after coronavirus.”

Mustapha noted that the reality further challenged the labour movement to carry out research and develop new strategies for work place operations and identify innovative ways of ensuring that productivity of the labour force remained a key driver to the nation’s economic growth.

He advised that the challenges currently facing in the health sector in particular on account of coronavirus should be given adequate attention.

Speaking on this year’s Labour Theme: “Maintaining Safety and Security in the workplace,” the PTF chairman further emphasised the importance of ensuring that all Nigerian workers are adequately protected to increase their productivity.

He added: “Similarly, it places on the workers the obligation to take responsibility by adhering to the implementation guidelines that have been developed and circulated especially in this COVID-19 era.

“The emphasis on safety has been underscored by the determination of the PTF to ensure the provision of PPEs and related gears for our healthcare workers, security personnel and other essential workers.”

On the situation in Kano, he asserted that the response to the situation was producing expected outcomes since testing was ramped up.

He said: “The State Task Force in collaboration with our teams has also expanded contact tracing and isolation. A lot of emphasis is being placed on training of different categories of manpower, building of capacity for coordination, care management and supply chain.

“We are also putting together a structure from the PTF to provide support on a full-time basis. The UN-System (WHO) is also putting together a surge team and re-purposing three thousand Community informants from Primary health care in Kano State, to strength the coordination of COVID at State and LGA levels.

“Although the spike in numbers coming out of Kano is a bit worrisome, global trends show that such indicates the discovery of previously undetected cases and creates greater opportunities for detection, isolation, care and management.”

 

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