COVID-19: NCDC warns churches against Carol services 

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC has urged Nigerians to be cautious with the annual festive celebrations  in order to curtail COVID-19 spread. 

Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) expressed this concern during the weekly meeting with the Presidential Task Force on Monday. 

Ihekweazu said that the festive Christmas carols, travels and other gatherings could be “super spreaders” of the virus. 

He said, “This is really to re-emphasise the call by the PTF that many of the traditional meetings that we engage in at this time of the year, whether they are Christmas carols or festivals, trips, family gatherings, each of these could end up being a super spreader event. 

“So, we must take this into consideration as we make our choices.”

The Director-General also advised Nigerians to keep adhering to COVID-19 preventive measures that despite the  discovery of COVID-19 vaccines, it will take a while before these vaccines are mass-produced.

“Although there had been some encouraging news about COVID-19 vaccines, mass-production of the vaccines might still take time.

“We are even very far from having one with a licence; so, we’ve to tighten our belts and get through this month of December.

“Everyone should be vigilant, disciplined and abide by the general protocols that we have advised throughout the year.

“This is the best way that we can keep our loved ones safe and transit safely into 2021.

“This is particularly important for the elderly in our country who we may want to go and visit as we do by this time of the year.”

The NCDC yesterday announced fresh 145 cases of COVID-19, taking the total number of cases to 67,557 with 1173 dead cases.