Lagos: Fourth Wave Of Covid-19 Looms

By Akinwale Kasali

Governor Babajide Sanwo Olu of Lagos State has announced the possibility  of a COVID-19 fourth wave as the borders to the State will be open to all in December.

The Lagos State Governor made this statement at the Civic Center, Victoria Island, Lagos during the inauguration of the Lagos State mass vaccination.

The Governor said that there is the potential for the fourth wave of COVID-19, as the borders will be open to all people coming into Lagos in December. In other to prevent the catastrophic events as witnessed previously in the previous waves, the State has developed a robust vaccination drive to curtail the spread of the virus.

The Governor added that the state aimed to reach the target of vaccinating 30 per cent of its population.

“To mitigate against this potential damage that will further spread existing variants of COVID-19 in the state and accelerate efforts towards herd immunity, the need for a different strategy became a front burner issue.

“This is what has culminated in the campaign tagged, ‘Count Me In! Four million Lagosians Vaccinated against COVID-19,’ to target the full vaccination of four million Lagos residents before the end of December 2021. Once achieved, this will bring the state closer to reaching our promise to vaccinate 30 per cent of our population within one year.”

Corroborating Governor Sanwo Olu, Prof. Akin Abayomi, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, said, “The first step is to control the in-bound flight passengers and maintain adherence to all preventive measures that have been put in place. The second step is to closely monitor the isolation of those coming from the red zones.”

The programme is aimed at vaccinating four million residents before the end of 2021.

The Lagos COVID vaccination campaign, which is in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), will cover residents who are 18 years and above.

Governor Sanwo-Olu said the State is saddled “in development of our strategy and counter-measures, we prioritise the protection of human lives and keeping our economy open for business.

“Once achieved, this will bring the state closer to reaching our promise to vaccinate 30 percent of our population within one year,” Sanwo-Olu said