Secretary to the Government of the Federation,  Boss Mustapha, has said the the team of Chinese medical Doctors who were recently brought into the country “will not directly meet nor interact with our patients while in Nigeria.”

The SGF stated this while giving an update on efforts by government to curtail the pandemic at a media briefing on Friday.

He reiterated that the presence of Chinese medical professionals in the country was purely advisory and for capacity building, especially on the protection of frontline health workers and maintenance of the equipment that they have brought, and would resume work only after their 14 days quarantine has elapsed.

Mustapha also said, the lock down in some states including Lagos and Abuja as earlier proclaimed by President Muhammadu Buhari continues, contrary to expectations that the Federal Government might have relaxed it.

He revealed further that the government was working on incentives, medical and life insurance for medical workers in the frontline of the fight against the pandemic, adding: “The evaluation of the impact of the restriction order of movement continues as the Presidential Task Force (PTF) will appropriately brief the President shortly and Nigerians will be adequately informed of the decision of Government.”

The SGF said he was aware and has indeed been a champion of the reform and transformation of the healthcare system, contrary to reports in some sections of the media that he was ignorant of the level of decay in the health sector, noting that the PTF assignment has afforded him the opportunity to dig deeper, interrogate and x-ray the system better.

He appealed to all the sub-national entities to recognise the serious nature of the COVID-19 situation and form a synergy with the federal government, so that the war would be won.