The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Muhammad Musa Bello, on Thursday, vowed to invoke all relevant laws to force wealthy Nigerians who have tested positive for coronavirus to seek treatment at the isolation centres scattered across the nation’s capital.
The minister was reacting to reports that some high-profile COVID-19 cases have rejected their evacuation to the isolation centres and instead opted for treatment at home.
The Chief Press Secretary to the minister, Anthony Ogunleye, who disclosed this in a statement, said the move to force the privilege individuals to seek treatment at the isolation facilities was one of the decisions taken at the meeting of the FCT COVID-19 Emergency Response Team and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) management.
The statement read: “The FCT Administration will invoke the relevant laws that enables it to mandatorily evacuate recalcitrant COVID-19 patients to treatment centres.
“The meeting which was chaired by the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello had in attendance the Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, the Permanent Secretary, Sir Chinyeaka Ohaa the Acting Secretary, Health and Human Services Secretariat, Dr. Mohammed Kawu, Director of Public Health, Dr. Josephine Okechukwu, heads of the various sub-committees of the Response Team and other senior staff of the Administration.
“following the submission by the Response Team that some COVID-19 positive individuals were refusing to go to treatment centres and instead preferred to treat themselves in their homes, the FCT minister expressed dissatisfaction with this development and said existing laws will be used to force such persons to go to treatment centres. He said their decision to stay at home posed great risks not just to their families but also immediate communities.
“Since we have begun to witness community transmission of the virus, it is imperative that we must do everything within our power to stop the spread even if we have to compel such persons to go to treatment centres.”