Thread by @DigiCommsNG

The Minister of Information today addressed a press conference to update Nigerians on the measures being taken by @NigeriaGov to tackle the #Coronavirus pandemic.

These are the highlights:

.@NigeriaGov is considering tougher measures to enforce compliance, stop the exportation of the disease to states that do not have it and minimize spread.

New Measures BEING CONSIDERED by @NigeriaGov include:

- Stopping inter-state/inter-town travels, except for essential services.

- Closing all motor parks and inter-state rail stations. Already, all
train movements nationwide have been stopped.

New Measures BEING CONSIDERED by @NigeriaGov include:

- Using fire fighting and other adaptable vehicles and personnel to fumigate
cities and towns.

.@NigeriaGov will be considering and announcing new measures from time to time, but rest assured that whatever decisions are taken will be in the best
interest of Nigerians.

.@NigeriaGov acknowledges and confirms receipt of donated safety and test kits from the Jack Ma Foundation in China.

The supplies are as follows:

- 100,000 Face Masks
- 1,000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- 20,000 test kits

PLEASE NOTE: The face masks and the PPE donated by the Jack Ma Foundation will be distributed to the front-line
health workers across the country while the test kits will be shared among Nigeria’s five test laboratories.

“We have 4,370 people of interest whom we are tracing. We urge those who have had contact with suspected cases to
immediately report to the authorities. We urge Nigerians to support the authorities in this regard.” — Minister @FMICNigeria

“[Nigeria is] on the verge of reaching the
level of community spread. We must stop this immediately or we will
record exponential cases in the days ahead. There is no better way to
say this.” — Minister @FMICNigeria

It is important to address the issue of Fake News relating to the #Coronavirus situation in Nigeria:

Instances of such fake news include:

- That there are only two ventilators in Abuja, out of which one has
been commandeered for a top government official

THIS IS FAKE NEWS.

Instances of such fake news include:

- That a British Airways Flight was due to land in Nigeria on Wednesday despite the closure of all international airports.

THIS IS FAKE NEWS.

Instances of such fake news include:

- That President Buhari has been coughing and is now on a ventilator.

THIS IS FAKE NEWS.

“A section of the traditional media has also been engaging in scaremongering and irresponsible reporting on the disease.” — Minister @FMICNigeria

“It is wrong to speculate on those who are positive or negative for #coronavirus
without any empirical information. In any case, being positive to coronavirus is not a death sentence, as we can see around the world.” — Minister @FMICNigeria

“There is no need for the kind of scaremongering we are seeing in a
section of the media. The danger is that this scaremongering can even discourage some who may want to come forward for testing. We therefore wish to appeal to the media to be more circumspect in their reporting.”