The federal government Thursday said it was planning to roll out tougher measures to stem the tide of the ravaging Coronavirus disease otherwise called COVID-19.
It was however silent on the measures which would be rolled out in the next 24 or 48 hours.
Also, the government threatened it may be forced to use the military or police to enforce compliance with the measures as well as for contact tracing.
Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed announced this at a media parley in Abuja.
While expressing worries over more than 1,300 contacts that were already in the country but yet to be identified, the government said there was fear the figure could multiply every five days, and consequently result in thousands being affected.
“We should be ready for tougher measures. The forms they will take will be out from the end of today or tomorrow. But Nigerians should be ready for tougher measures. If we don’t do proper contact tracing, the figure will multiply every five days. Nigerians must take ownership of this initiative.
“We won’t hesitate to use whatever measure to ensure that you do not endanger other Nigerians. Containment is very cheaper than cure. A few people have helped. If you know you travelled recently, give yourself up to relevant agencies.
“If the situation warrants, we may be forced to use the police and the military for contact tracing. The police is already working on that. We don’t want the figure we have now to multiply. We should work towards containment which is cheaper,” the minister said.
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