The Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo- Olu has briefed Lagosians on the Coronavirus pandemic situation in Lagos State, and our ongoing response as a State Government.
The Governor stated that early in March 2021, the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Lagos State began to wind down, and we began to enjoy some reprieve from the worst effects of the virus. This allowed us to further open-up the economy to allow the start of the journey towards full normalcy in our lives and the pursuit of livelihoods, after what has been a very difficult year.
Regrettably, in spite of the hard work and dedicated efforts towards sustaining the return to normalcy, over the last three months, we are now finding ourselves at what appears to be the start of a potential 3rd wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, in Lagos State.
He went on to state that since the beginning of July, Lagos started to experience a steep increase in the number of daily confirmed cases, with the test positivity rate going from 1.1% at the end of June 2021 to its current rate of 6.6% as at 8th of July 2021. The rapid increase within a week gives great cause for concern.
In addition, within the last two weeks, the occupancy rate at the isolation centres increased from an average of 1% to 6%. This is the new and disturbing reality that now confronts us.
However saying that the figures should not demoralise Lagosians but instead resolve not leave any stone unturned in our bid to effectively mitigate the third wave of this pandemic in Lagos State.
“Lagos has been the epicentre of the pandemic since the start, and the way we manage it here has a significant impact and reverberating effect on the national outlook and outcomes. So, Nigeria is counting on us in Lagos State to be resolute in our stand against the virus”.
The Governor added that the State will continue to test aggressively and focus on sequencing the samples to ensure we are detecting and keeping track of the different variants in circulation.
Pointing out that collecting data will aid comprehensive testing and sequencing required for informed decision-making.