A medical researcher, Dr. Bamidele Iwalokun, has described the lockdown extension announced by President Muhammadu Buhari to further curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria as very necessary.

Iwalokun, a Deputy Director of Research at the Nigeria Institute of Medi-Cal Research (NIMR), Yaba, expressed his views in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.

NAN reports that Buhari had, in a televised broadcast on Monday, announced another 14 days extension of the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

“The lockdown extension is necessary as the epidemic curve of confirmed COVID-19 cases is on the rise. “The pattern and trajectory of these cases suggest community transmission, a substrate for surge and countrywide spread.

“So, other states also need a lockdown and the government should scale up the surge plan and revise the logistics of distributing palliatives. “Worthy to mention is the scale up of diagnostic, treatment, isolation and quarantine centres at state and local government levels as well as our borders,” he said.

Iwalokun, who is also of the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology in NIMR, said that more volunteer health workers should be engaged at the various centres across the country to support the existing workers.

He added that more research was needed to generate new data to advance the knowledge about the clinical conditions inflicted by the virus on Nigerians.

“More volunteer health workers are needed to man the various COVID-19 centres with appropriate training. “Also, more research should be carried out to accelerate the recovery and improving the prognosis of hospitalised patients with case-specific supportive treatments,” he said.

Iwalokun, however, advised the state governments to further harmonise their efforts with the local officials to strengthen community compliance to the lockdown.

“States like Lagos, Ogun and the FCT should strengthen community compliance through the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs. “This will improve public health education campaign and can also be integrated into the social palliative programmes,” the medical researcher said.