Coronavirus: No Chinese doctor has tested positive for COVID-19 - FG

Coronavirus: No Chinese doctor has tested positive for COVID-19 - FG

- Information minister Lai Mohammed has debunked the report claiming one of the Chinese doctors brought into Nigeria had tested positive for COVID-19

- The information minister noted that the task force has had to devote as much energy to debunking fake news as fighting the pandemic

- He urged Nigerians to disregards COVID-19 related reports that do not emanate from the task force's daily briefings or the website of the NCDC

The presidential task force on COVID-19 has debunked the reports claiming that one of the Chinese doctors recently brought into Nigeria had tested positive for the virus.

The minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who is also a member of the task force, debunked the claim on Wednesday, April 15, during the daily media briefing in Abuja.

The minister said the task force had been having to devote as much energy devoted to the fight against COVID-19 to debunking fake news being regularly spun against the efforts of government in fighting the pandemic.

Read also

Maltreatment of Nigerians - FG provides soft landing for China, blames poor communication

Coronavirus: No Chinese doctor has tested positive for COVID-19 - FG
Information minister Lai Mohammed debunks reports claiming a Chinese doctor tested positive for COVID-19
Source: UGC

He urged Nigerians to disregards COVID-19 related reports that do not emanate from the task force's daily briefings or the website of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Mohammed also debunked another report claiming that members of the National Assembly had shared N700 million fund.

“To the best of my knowledge, I’m not aware that any such money has been given to members of the National Assembly, but I know that fake news is not abating.

“This morning, there was a message that went viral, to the effect that one of the Chinese doctors tested positive and that news was supposed to have emanated from the Twitter handle of the federal government. I want to say, to the best of our knowledge here, there’s no such thing," he said.

PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet!

Meanwhile, amid intensified efforts on the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered that 4,000 COVID-19 tests should be conducted daily.

Read also

Coronavirus: Doctors give update on Abba Kyari's health status

Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of NCDC, made this known during the presidential task force meeting on COVID-19 on Wednesday.

Ihekweazu said the president mandated the NCDC to increase testing in Lagos to 2,000; FCT, 1,000 and the rest of Nigeria to 1,000 per day.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better

Nigerians will die of hunger than COVID-19 | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Nurudeen Lawal avatar

Nurudeen Lawal (Head of Politics and Current Affairs Desk) Nurudeen Lawal is an AFP-certified journalist with a wealth of experience spanning over 8 years. He received his B/Arts degree in Literature-in-English from OAU. Lawal is the Head of the Politics/CA Desk at Legit.ng, where he applies his expertise to provide incisive coverage of events. He was named the Political Desk Head of the Year (Nigeria Media Nite-Out Award 2023). He is also a certified fact-checker (Dubawa fellowship, 2020). Contact him at lawal.nurudeen@corp.legit.ng or +2347057737768.