NMA, others seek shutdown of NYSC camps over rise of COVID-19 cases

Government also described as fake and irresponsible reports raising doubts about the propriety of the four million doses of Moderna vaccines donated by the US government, even as it explained reasons strict travel protocols were put in place to protect Nigerians from being infected by the pandemic.

The Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, in a swift reaction, called for suspension of camp activities if the government cannot vaccinate all youth corps members, while critical stakeholders in the education sector blamed negligence on the part of officials for the reported surge in COVID-19 cases in orientation camps run by the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, across the country but expressed differing opinions on whether or not the camps should be shut down.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji  Lai Mohammed, stated these in Abuja yesterday, against the backdrop of claims by NYSC Director of Press and Public Relations, Adenike Adeyemi, that there was no positive corps members in any of the agency’s 37 orientation camps nationwide.

However, Mohammed said if more tests were conducted in orientation camps, “there will be more cases.”

He said consistent testing and non-compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions are responsible for the rising cases of infection across the camps.

The minister said:  “Two things are responsible for the high cases of pandemic reported at the National Youth Service Corps camps.

“One is because of consistent testing that has been taking place in the camps. The truth of the matter is that if we ramp up testing today, there will be more cases.

“Second reason for the high cases is that people have actually let down their guards. We are no longer obeying non-pharmaceutical interventions such as washing of hands regularly with soap and water or sanitising hands when that (washing of hand) is not available.

“If over 4.2 million people have been lost to the virus world-wide and it is not abating, we need to be more serious with the protocols around COVID-19, especially on non-pharmaceutical interventions.

“Some countries are even having the 4th and the 5th waves. It is not unique to Nigeria, because when you look at the wave, like last Saturday, it was 1,000 plus and now going to 18,000 cases in Nigeria.

“In the last four weeks in particular, we have witnessed so much increase, even globally. So far, we are witnessing almost four million every week globally and from daily cases of about 540,000, we are now witnessing 570,000 daily worldwide.

“So really, Nigeria is already in the third wave and this case has been compounded by Delta variant. And we have identified the Delta variant in several states in Nigeria also.

“The Delta variant is about 60 times more potent than the wide COVID II. And it is very virulent, deadly and more easily transmissible.

“It appears that while the normal variant will take about seven days to manifest, the Delta variant manifests within two days of being infected. So, it is a real challenge for us. But the Presidential Steering Committee, PSC, is not resting on its oars to ensure that they give out necessary directive to national response team to tackle this virus.’’

Alhaji Mohammed also dismissed as untrue insinuations against the propriety of the Moderna vaccines donated to Nigeria by the US government.

He said the suspicion that the country was being made a testing ground and Nigerians being guinea pigs for testing the vaccine was “baseless, unscientific and a deliberate attempt to dissuade people from taking it.”

“Nigerians are extremely fertile in imagination. They will make statements that are baseless and not proved by science.

“Those who are saying this, is Nigeria the only country where Moderna vaccine is being administered? The answer is No.

“They should stop this nonsense, because this kind of  fake news is capable of discouraging people from taking the vaccine,” he said.

He urged Nigerians not to be dissuaded by the rumours, disinformation and fake news on COVID-19 and the vaccines.

He said the vaccine was not harmful but meant to save life, asking Nigerians to come out and take it when the second batch would be rolled out on August 16.

He said:  “COVID 19 is real and the Delta variant is in Nigeria because we have been witnessing increase in cases due to the variant that we have identified in many states.

“The variant is very virulent, highly transmissible, and it kills more easily and faster.  The only two ways for Nigerians to protect themselves is by taking the vaccine and observing the non-pharmaceutical protocols.

“If you have taken your dose, don’t think you are free to go about without wearing face mask and attending rallies and parties.  I sincerely hope that Nigerians will realise that prevention is better than cure.”

The minister added that those travelling to and from restricted or non-restricted countries should submit themselves for necessary protocols.

He appealed to the media, religious leaders, traditional rulers and other influential personalities to join the PSC in sensitising the public to the fact that all the vaccines had been approved by WHO and safe for use.

Mohammed also called on state governments to reactivate their structures in the enforcement of COVID-19 protocols.

Explaining why the Federal Government put strict travel protocols in place in the country, Lai Mohammed said:  “We have been accused that our rules are being stringent. We say no. We are not being tough for toughness sake. We are being tough because that is what science demands. We are tough because we want to protect our people.

“This is why you will see that the Presidential Steering Committee, PSC, has designated and ranked different parts of the globe where the Delta variant is prevalent or the very high risk of contracting COVID-19.

“We have labelled them restricted countries. As of today, we have only four of such; South Africa, India, Brazil and Turkey. And there are strict travel protocols around these countries because we want to prevent and protect our people.

“The first instance, nationals of these countries are not allowed into Nigeria. If you are a Brazilian and you are coming from Brazil and Indian coming from India, a South African coming from South Africa or Turkish coming from Turkey, you are not allowed in.

“It doesn’t mean a Brazilian living in London cannot come, you can come if you are coming from London. And also, not everybody coming from these countries are banned, we make exemptions; diplomats are exempted, high-level government officials, those coming to fix our infrastructure and economy are exempted by PSC.

“But no matter what category, whether a Nigerian coming from Turkey or you are exempted for whatever you are coming to do in Nigeria, you must observe the travel protocols which means you check in straight into a quarantined facility approved by the Federal Government.

“When you are there, your health is monitored constantly. On day two of your arrival, you will do a COVID-19 test, do another one on day seven; it is only after you are tested negative on day seven that you are allowed to go home and meet your relations.

“However those who are coming from non-restricted countries, also have  protocols to observe. Day one, they must self-isolate in their respective homes.  On day seven, they must come out and do a test before they are discharged.’’

He, however, lamented that many people who came in from non-restricted countries did not observe self-isolation, noting that  even when they did, they thought it was an occasion to invite friends and relations.

“It is a dangerous practice. Those doing that are endangering their lives, the lives of their friends and relations.

“If you have taken the two doses of your AstraZeneca or Moderna, they will not prevent you from catching COVID-19 again, the only advantage you have, if you catch it after you took the vaccine, you won’t be terribly sick, you may not even notice it, you won’t be hospitalised and you will not die of COVID-19.

“If someone comes in from a country like India for instance, even if he is vaccinated and he meets a Nigerian who has been vaccinated, that Nigerian can still catch it because you need to have vaccinated at least 70 per cent of your population.

“It is when you have vaccinated 70 per cent of your population before you can achieve what they call herd immunity. Here we are still struggling with two per cent vaccination.

“So that is why we put what looks like tough travel protocols around most restricted and non-restricted countries,’’ he said.

Reacting to the development yesterday, the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, called for suspension of camp activities if the government cannot vaccinate all youth corps members.

NMA Lagos Chairman on COVID-19, Dr Japhet Olugbogi, said the government needed to be cautious and ensure that all corps members, including the NYSC staff, military personnel, among others, were vaccinated.

“If they must allow the NYSC camp to continue, they should be able to vaccinate everyone in the camp. If they cannot vaccinate all the corps members, then there is no point opening camps for the youth corps members.

“It is the only preventable way of the spread of COVID-19 virus in the camp. You know how activities in the camp are done.

“Most times they are closely arranged. They cannot be in camp and not come in contact with one another and they may not be wearing face masks all the time and observing other protocols.

“NMA Lagos will like to advise the Federal Government, for now, to close the camps or suspend camping activities and if possible do virtual camp exercises.

“It is not advisable for them to continue having physical camping activities right now with the spread of COVID-19 in the camps especially in this third wave where we have different types of variants of  COVID in our communities. 

“We don’t even know how many of the variants that are circulating in our communities right now.  Also, government needs to ensure that all staff, support staff,  the military personnel and others including the food vendors that will be in the camp are all vaccinated,’’ he said.

Olugbogi further called for more testing, adding that if more testing were done in the camp, far more people would test positive there.

Meanwhile, some critical stakeholders in the education sector have blamed negligence on the part of officials for the reported surge in the Coronavirus disease cases in orientation camps run by the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, across the country.

However, they have different opinions on whether the camps should be shut down to prevent further escalation of the outbreak.

The stakeholders include the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS and the National Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN.

Speaking on the matter, the Secretary General of the NUT, Dr Mike Ene, noted that if due diligence was applied when the corps members were reporting to their various camps, those who contracted the disease would have been fished out on time.

“It is very unfortunate that we now have a third wave of COVID-19 in the country, and also that we are contending with the Delta variant. What government ought to have done is to test corps members before they are allowed into the camps and isolate positive cases.

“Now, test results are ready within 24 hours and if a test is done today, may be in another 10 days, another round of testing can be done. It is negligence on the part of the NYSC officials to assume that corps members coming from different parts of the country are all free from the disease.

“We all saw what happened during the recent Olympic Games, as tests were done and everybody wore facemasks and you only take it off when you are competing as an athlete,” he said.

On the suggestion that the camps should be shut down for a while, Ene opposed the idea, saying homes, schools, markets and other public places were still running.

“The NYSC scheme is a veritable tool of national unity and must not be toyed with. I won’t subscribe to shutting down the camps. Another advantage of the scheme is that it helps to take away the minds of our youths from vices and social misbehaviour.

“For the 11 months they are engaged in the scheme, they learn entrepreneurship. Some parents, the moment their wards finished their final papers in school, would stop supporting those children financially, but the scheme gives them something to hold on to,” he added.

On his part, the South-West Coordinator of NANS, Kappo Samuel Olawale, said the government was not doing enough with respect to corps members.

“The time we are now regarding the issue of COVID-19 is not an auspicious time to gather youths from across the country into NYSC camps. The corps members can stay in their various states for now and can even be deployed in other local government areas apart from their own.

“If somebody in Lagos is sent to Sokoto, he has to criss-cross a lot of states. And in so doing can contract the disease if he did not have it before. For me, corps members should not be deployed now and the camps should be closed until the situation returns to normal,” he stated.

National President of NAPTAN, Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, blamed NYSC officials for not monitoring the corps members and allowing them to observe safety protocols.

“People should be tested before going into the camps and anybody who tests positive should be promptly isolated. The corps members came from different homes and the new variant may not show any symptoms.

“Our children who are writing their final examination in secondary schools are doing so without any issue because we ensure safety protocols are duly followed. How would you assemble corps members from different parts of the country and not do the needful?

“They can close down the camps where there is high incidence of the COVID-19 outbreak. The lives of our children are precious and we cannot toy with them,” Danjuma said.