FG clears air on declaring lockdown in Nigeria over COVID-19 Delta variant

The Federal Government has said Nigeria is not at a level where another national lockdown will be considered, despite the presence of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in the country.

Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, stated this on Thursday while speaking during the weekly ministerial press briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Ehanire noted that apart from the vaccines sourced free of charge, the federal government has paid for about 30 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

He confirmed the 176,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have already been received while the rest will come in batches.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, noted that the cases of COVID-19 recently sequenced in Nigeria are Delta variants.

He said the variant has become the most dominant variant in the country.

Also speaking, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said 2.3 percent of eligible Nigerians have been vaccinated.

As at Thursday morning, 179,908 cases have been confirmed in Nigeria. 166,213 have been discharged, while 2,195 deaths have been recorded.