Coronavirus: Buhari not on ventilator — FG

The Federal Government says President Muhammadu Buhari is not on any ventilator as being rumoured. There had been rumours that the president was down with coronavirus. The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, said this at a press conference in Abuja today. Lai emphasised that the president was not sick. “This brings me to the rising […]

The Federal Government says President Muhammadu Buhari is not on any ventilator as being rumoured.

There had been rumours that the president was down with coronavirus.

The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, said this at a press conference in Abuja today.

Lai emphasised that the president was not sick.

“This brings me to the rising instances of fake news associated with coronavirus. The epidemic of fake news is now competing with the pandemic of coronavirus, and this is not helping the fight against the disease. Instances of such fake news include – That there are only two ventilators in Abuja, out of which one has been commandeered for a top government official.  That a British Airways Flight was due to land in Nigeria on Wednesday despite the closure of all international airports.
That President Muhammadu Buhari has been coughing and is now on ventilator. Fake. Fake. Fake. It’s all fake news,” he said.

The minister said 4,370 Nigerians that had contact with suspected cases were still being traced.

He expressed the fear that cases of coronavirus might rise “exponentially” if communities were hit.

“We have 4,370 people of interest whom we are tracing. We urge those who have had contact with suspected cases to immediately report to the authorities. We urge Nigerians to support the authorities in this regard. We are on the verge of reaching the level of community spread. We must stop this immediately or we will record exponential cases in the days ahead. There is no better way to say this,” he added.