As the country continues to record more cases of COVID-19, some experts in the health sector have emphasised the need for effective and lasting measures to curtail the further spread of the virus in Nigeria.

Some of the measures include intensifying efforts on research for local remedies, renewed and sustained sensitisation as well as adherence to precautionary/preventive measures.

In Nigeria, the first case of the virus emerged on February 28, 2020, and the cases increased rapidly within six months to 47,743 cases, with 979 deaths as of August 12, 2020.

A virologist, Oyewale Tomori, called for more consistency in the way information, data and updates on the COVID-19 pandemic are provided to the general public in Nigeria.

Mr Tomori said there had not been adequate breakdown information on how or where the surge in the COVID-19 new cases is actually coming from; whether it is from people coming into the country or it is being spread among people who live in the country.

“For some time now, I have observed that there is no longer consistency in the way and manner in which updates and data/information about COVID-19 are being provided for public consumption,” Mr Tomori said.

The virologist also called on the presidential task force on COVID-19 to rise up to its mandates and deploy necessary strategic measures to contain the pandemic because it is still very much present in the country.

Contributing, another virologist, Everest Okeakpu, identified “vaccination” as key in efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Okeakpu decried that many Nigerians, particularly those in the informal sector, have not been vaccinated for COVID-19.

According to him, the surge in the reported new cases of COVID-19 does not come as a surprise because the Nigerian society has completely abandoned all the precautionary measures against the disease.

He emphasises the need for people to always complete the dosage of the vaccine accordingly – the first dose, a second dose and the booster dose, respectively, saying that would make the vaccine more effective.

Babatunde Salako, director-general of the Nigerian Institute Of Medical Research ( NIMR), said among measures to curtail and stop the spread of COVID-19 is the need for research and development of indigenous solutions.

He emphasised that continuous research on local remedies and surveillance should be of top priority.

Also, James Damen, the national president, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), says many Nigerians no longer observe the basic safety precautions given by the NCDC.

“People are no longer observing the basic COVID-19 precautions in place, and that is why we are seeing this increase.

“People should stick to these guidelines, and the government also should not relent in educating the public on it,” he said.

(NAN)