PTF: Why Lagos COVID-19 numbers are going down

Sani Aliyu, national coordinator, presidential task force on COVID-19, says coronavirus infections in Lagos are decreasing because the state conducted large-scale testing in the past.

He disclosed this during the PTF media briefing in Abuja, on Thursday.

Lagos had recorded a steady increase in COVID-19 cases, with the figure rising to as high as 404 infections in a single count on August 22, 2020.

However, the daily count started decreasing in late August, dropping to as low as 20 cases on September 2.

Speaking on the declining number of positive samples in Lagos, the PTF coordinator commended the state for its efforts to improve its testing capacity.

“Lagos already has three-fold the number of positives that were tested. Lagos numbers are coming down because they have tested widely in the past and they’ve been able to take measures. It’s only by testing and knowing your numbers that you can implement your COVID programme,” he said.

“It depends on the number of tests. It’s one of the reasons why we keep on encouraging state governments to please continue to push for more and more testing.”

On the rise in the number of positive cases in Plateau, he also attributed it to increased testing.

“Plateau is actually the one doing the right thing. Every state should ideally test up to one percent of its population. Only FCT and Lagos have reached that 50 percent mark. All the others are much lower,” Aliyu added.

“Plateau is coming up and we congratulate the governor for doing the right thing. We are not congratulating them for getting positive cases, but for doing the right thing by testing because by testing you know whether or not you have a problem.”

As of September 8, 2020, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Lagos had tested 104,532 samples, while in Plateau, 26,562 persons have been tested.