By Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has raised an alarm over the increasing figure of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state and warned foreigners who violate guidelines that they risk deportation.
At a press briefing on Monday, the governor called on residents to adhere strictly to the guidelines put in place to curb the spread of the virus.
Lagos State, the epicenter of the pandemic in Nigeria has witnessed a rise in positivity rate; from 1.1 percent at the start of July to seven percent by the time the month ended.
“As of August 1, 2021, the positivity rate in Lagos is 8.9 per cent. This is an eight-fold increase over the recorded figure a month ago, and it should rightly alarm all of us,” the governor said.
“This has resulted in 4,300 confirmed cases in July alone and 352 admissions into our isolation facilities.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu believes everyone should be concerned about the rising cases, but he does not want people to panic.
Instead, he expects them to approach the situation “with a firm resolve and determination to reverse the trend”.
“We have done it before and we can do it again,” he said.
The third wave of the pandemic has no doubt hit Lagos State proper and while it has not been as disruptive as the first and second waves, it has led to the reintroduction of restrictions and forced the management of the University of Lagos to send students home.
Governor Sanwo-Olu admitted that the state was already in the third wave of the pandemic but he believes previous experiences battling the disease will help the state prevail over it.
To achieve that objective, according to him, the state and its resident will have to dig deep and summon the will to do everything necessary.
From the start of the outbreak in February 2020, Lagos has recorded a total of 64,032 confirmed COVID-19 cases, out of which 56,336 have recovered and 2,755 being managed actively in the community.
“We have, sadly, recorded 390 fatalities in Lagos State, 30 of which have taken place in this current third wave of the pandemic. Essentially, we have recorded on average six deaths per day since last week,” the governor said.
Over the course of managing the pandemic, about 5,029 patients have been admitted into various care centers in the state.
