The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 on Thursday revealed that 684 evacuees have tested positive for COVID-19.
The PTF Chairman and Secretary to the government of the federation,Boss Mustapha, gave the revelation on Thursday at the briefing of the task force in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
He revealed that a total of 14,906 people have been evacuated during the COVID-19 pandemic and almost 80 per cent of them were youths.
Mustapha added that 13,844 of the returnees had taken the COVID-19 test so far and the results of 684 people came back positive.
“It may interest you to note that of the 14,906 evacuees received during this COVID-19 pandemic, close to 80 per cent are youths for which we are glad that only 684 tested positive to the Coronavirus out of the 13,844 so far tested.
“In the coming days, we hope to receive more evacuees from different parts of the world,” Mustapha said.
Speaking on the state of the economy and government’s effort in cushioning the effect of the pandemic,Mustapha called on business owners to take advantage of government’s stimulus package.
He noted that the United Kingdom hinted that it would be going into a recession after its economy suffered a slump in growth by a record 20 per cent in the second quarter.
He said to prevent such occurrence,the Nigerian Government had put in place an Economic Sustainability Plan backed by a stimulus package in the sum of N2.6 trillion to boost local economies and production, for all sizes of businesses, including small family businesses.
The PTF chairman believes it is important for businesses in the country to take advantage of the stimulus package to revive their businesses and give them a boost.
Giving an update on the outbreak of COVID-19 in Nigeria, he noted that the country has reported fewer numbers of confirmed cases in the last two weeks.
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Mustapha, however, warned that the reports should not be misconstrued as a victory over the virus.
According to him, there is still a serious battle to be fought ahead as a country and it is that the nation continues to build on the successes recorded so far.
