Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu believes Nigeria has not gotten to its peak yet, amid the increasing number of confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the country.
The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) stated this on Friday during his appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
He said, “From our projection, we are not near the peak yet; we still have a number of weeks to go.”
“But we are trying to stretch out these weeks even further so we can push the peak a bit further out but make sure that the peak is not as steep as it would otherwise have been if no measures were put in place,” Ihekweazu added.
He explained the measures being put in place by the NCDC to ensure the nation’s health system does not get overwhelmed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The NCDC chief stated that the agency would not relent in its effort to curb the spread of the disease in the country, despite being over-stretched.
Noting that Nigeria now has a total of 981 infections, he decried the limiting factors making the transmission of coronavirus possible, saying they were completely outside the control of the health sector.
“Of course, we are over-stretched … but we will not stop because we really don’t have an option NCDC boss admitted.
He added, “At the moment and from what we know, we will not be able to radically stop in a day or two, or even a few weeks but what we are trying to do is really to stretch out that curve so that the health system can cope with the number of cases coming in.”
Ihekweazu also explained the various roles of the NCDC in the fight against COVID-19 in various states.
According to him, the agency is primarily established to serve the states and they are trying to do that as best as they can.
The NCDC boss revealed that the agency was working with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), and other government health parastatals.
He noted that through these combined resources, a team of medical experts was sent to the various states to support other health workers in the frontline.
