Category: Uncategorized

Article · May 2020
CITATIONS
0
READS
14
1 author:

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

International Investment Law and Climate Change Mitigation View project
Geofrey Eneyo
Aberdeen Business School
2 PUBLICATIONS   0 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Geofrey Eneyo on 01 May 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

COVID-19 IN NIGERIA – INCREASE TESTING CAPACITY AND STEM COMMUNITY TRANSMISSIONS: TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!

On Monday, April 27 2020, after listening to President Buhari’s broadcast about easing
lockdowns in Lagos and Ogun from May 4, 2020, without any reassurance of sufficient provisions for what he described as ‘aggressive testing,’ I thought to myself, when will our
government move away from rhetoric to reality? If by now, you cannot put numbers on available testing kits, available protective equipment and expanding accredited testing laboratories through half the states of the federation, contact tracing will merely be a matter of optics. We must move at the speed of emerging scientific/medical advisory on this pandemic by learning very fast from the experiences of worst-hit countries. The first step to that reality
is to ensure that every Nigerian State has and can do more testings. That is the only way to implement contact tracing efficiently.

According to the President, ‘the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has accredited

15 laboratories across the country with an aggregate capacity to undertake 2500 test per day across the country.’ With such numbers, we are very far from the road to recovery, and there is not a single way to grapple with the idea that a country of about 200 million people is still projecting only 2500 test each day since announcing the first lockdown of Lagos on March 29 2020. According to the Director-General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Nigeria is adopting ‘a strategy of ‘managed acceleration’ and would not pool samples to multiply testing capacity as is being done in Ghana which currently has one of the largest testing programmes in the region.’ Quoting from Bloomberg news, Dr Chikwe while addressing the World Health
Organisation on Thursday, April 23 2020, insisted thus- ‘I would rather go a little bit slower and get it right than speed into a situation that we will end up regretting.’ But while precision in
testings is critically vital and cannot be sacrificed on the altar of speed, Dr Chikwe and this government should also appreciate that this virus may be moving faster than we thought, and delays with tests expansion could leave us in more dire strait. Some countries are already deploying automated testings to ramp up progress. We cannot afford to be mechanic and unwieldy at the same time. Perhaps, it is this slow testing capacity, and delayed containment strategy not helped by a President who barely steer affairs of State that led the ace broadcaster Fortune ‘General’ Omosola to tweet in despair- ‘Nigerians will survive anything, they are lone survivors, brave, intrepid, fearless and that’s the real reason why the government can’t see beyond their musty corridors. It’s a shame.’ (italics mine).
To have any chance of winning the fight against Coronavirus (COVID-19), the first and most critical shot at it is a continuing increase in your testing capacity. Anything other than that, as a nation that always adopts prayer as our usual strategy to solve every single human problem, we may have to now resort to praying for quick discovery of appropriate containment vaccine.

Interestingly, the United Kingdom has only a few days ago, ran its first vaccine test on a volunteer medical practitioner, and she did not die, she is still alive and full of pride risking it for all of us. However, it is unclear when the vaccines would have been mass-produced, enough to be correctly administered on every contact case here in the UK. In other places notwithstanding issues around product or process patent that could potentially slow progress in sending out to or developing similar vaccines in countries like Nigeria. I understand that some may argue that, given we have a global emergency of this magnitude on our hands, it will be insensitive for patent issues to serve any bottlenecks at this time. Just like you, I agree it should not, but it usually does not work that smooth.

Increase in testing for contact cases has continued to help countries understand the extent of this problem, providing direction for next cause of action and enabling them to measure their level of progress and areas to improve going forward. In the United States, the most infected country with over a million case, over 6.3 million tests have been carried out. In Spain, with 236,889 cases and second most infected country after the US, a total of 1,455,306 people are confirmed tested. Italy, the third most infected country with currently 203,591 cases, a total of 1,910,761 tests have been completed as at yesterday. I also do know a lot of people will argue that the socioeconomic strength of these countries should not be compared to Nigeria, after all, they are industrialised economies, and we are not.

Yet, despite having an ‘industrialised health sector,’ these countries have seen unprecedented deaths from the virus. Why so? For instance, before the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Italy on February 20, 2020, from a 38-year-old man, people who initially presented symptoms in hospitals were thought to have mere seasonal flu or pneumonia. With the virus not detected early enough, by the time the authorities got a hold on testings, a lot of transmission chains had taken place. It was a pattern similar to worst-hit countries with record losses. Worryingly, as the seventh-largest population in the world after China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Pakistan and Brazil, if we do not ramp up testings and detect spread early, community transmission among us could become too much to handle. In the United Kingdom, while names of people with the infection within your local area are concealed, a quick online check of the number of cases within your community pops up. With this, you have a clear idea about taking extra-precaution to keep yourself safe, especially when stepping to
the groceries for food and other essentials.

Of the other six populated countries, apart from Indonesia and Pakistan with testing capacities at 94,599 and 174,160 respectively, Brazil and India have covered no less than 330,000 of its vast population respectively, testing 339,552 and 716,733 of its citizens as at April 29 2020.

So, why should one not be concerned when on average test per 1 million people, we are as weak as having just tested 66 people? We must act with rapidity to ensure our testing capacity does measure cumulatively on our population at the very least. No government can hide its
cluelessness through this pandemic; it will expose your incompetence to the world.

Now coming to Africa where we love to play the giant ostrich of the continent, you would be
stunned by what some African countries are doing to tackle this virus. Most of these countries
understand that putting words into action by increasing their testing capacity may just be the
most critical and first antidote to this pandemic, and results are trickling in as well. In Kenya and Mauritius, a total of 396 and 332 cases have been recorded respectively. And even with their populations nowhere near ours, these countries have tested more. A total of 20,268 and 14,445 people apiece while Nigeria trails at 13,689 tests. Also, while 144 people have
recovered in Kenya, in Mauritius, 310 people have recovered so far with recoveries in Nigeria now 307. South Africa, on its part, has now recorded 5,350 cases, tested 197,127 persons,
and 2,073 patients have recovered. I bet you do not want to do that maths, but I can give you a look-in. Although we are yet to reach half the cases in South Africa, the number of those we
have sadly lost to this virus is about half the number of people lost to the pandemic in South Africa. They have lost 103 persons; we have lost 51 persons. While analysis of these figures may not bode well with some, facts must be presented to Nigerians, so they can continue to
demand more action, less scripting from this government. Secondly, these data should give us a clear perspective of what may be coming if NCDC does not ramp up testing across the country.

According to Premium Times report on April 27 2020, ‘with over a thousand cases in Africa, Nigeria has the worst testing capacity.’ On April 1, the Nigerian government stated that ‘to expand coverage, it has increased its testing capacity from 500 to 1500 daily coverage. Three weeks after, precisely on April 21 2020, the Presidential Task Force for COVID-19 again, told Nigerians, that the NCDC would increase our testing capacity across the country to 4000 each day. But the Nigerian Infectious Diseases Society (NIDS) have retorted, noting that the country

It is easy to ease lockdowns, and yes, fear over projected economic depression should not be a stand-alone reason for taking such decision, there are other factors this government ought to consider alongside the economy. I say this with regards to some of the options currently being weighed by the UK Government as they too look to relax lockdowns soon. If we must lift lockdowns, our government ought to also consider the following:

(1) The ability of our health system to cope in the event of a spike in cases after we relax lockdown. Can we comfortably say our intensive care units, for example, can deal? Do we have enough bed spaces to admit patients if this decision leads to a fresh wave in COVD-19 patients? We cannot forget that hospitals will also continue to accept people who fall sick from other causes. So, do we think a 3000 capacity bed spaces for cases in Nigeria enough, knowing as at April 30, 2020, Nigeria still has 1,370 active cases?
Did our government consider the impact an overwhelmed sector might have on the mental health of our frontline workers too?

(2) Did our government also consider how a decision to lift lockdown could affect our number from falling or rising? A consistent fall in cases or record deaths would have been good, but for over a week now, NCDC daily report shows we have seen a steady rise in cases. Yesterday April 29 2020, Nigeria saw its highest numbers, 196 new contacts according to NCDC.

(3) What indicators show that lifting restrictions will not implode our cases from current manageable levels?

(4) With inadequate testing capacity after two months of keeping Nigerians in the dark on the real extent of community transmissions, what assurances do we have that we can fix this before the lockdown of Lagos and Ogun is relaxed next week? Or that we have enough PPEs in stock for our health and other frontline workers. We must prioritise the safety of those putting their lives on the line for us during this pandemic. We must guard and guide against sacrificing them merely because of the misplaced government
priorities!

In conclusion, Mr President, how about doing the needful first? The first thing we need to see is a consistent cumulative increase in Nigeria’s testing capacity. Increase in testings is the first window that gives you a sneak peek into whether or not you have a hold on this situation.

While I agree that a lockdown without food may be counterproductive and call for alternative palliatives to ease the burden of survival, relaxing lockdowns without ramping up testings across Nigeria could be immensely disastrous for our nation. It is not an alarmist view but to raise awareness and remind the government that we are wasting valuable time by not testing
enough of our citizens for this virus. If we must successfully detect and stem the extent of community transmissions, then time is of the essence here!
Geofrey Eneyo is a researcher and writes from Port Harcourt Nigeria. You can reach him at
eneyofenomenon@gmail.com

Sources referred:

1. Anthony Nlebem, ‘Lockdown: Full Speech by President Muhammadu Buhari’ (April 27,
2020). Available at https://businessday.ng/lead-story/article/lockdown-full-speech-by￾president-muhammadu-buhari/ accessed April 30, 2020.

2. Matthew Herper, ‘Test Makers Are Moving Fast, But the Coronavirus May Be Moving
Faster’ (March 31, 2020). Available at https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/31/test￾makers-are-moving-fast-but-the-coronavirus-may-be-moving-faster/ accessed April
29, 2020.

3. Melissa Godin, ‘Why Is Italy’s Coronavirus Outbreak So Bad?’ (The Time, March 10,
2020 2:18 PM EDT). Available at https://time.com/5799586/italy-coronavirus-outbreak/
accessed April 30 2020

4. Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Available at https://covid19.ncdc.gov.ng/
accessed April 30, 2020.

5. Nike Adebowale, ‘Coronavirus: Why I called for ‘Desperate’ Help for Nigeria- NCDC
Chief’ (April 27 2020). Available at
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/390215-coronavirus-why-i-called￾for-desperate-help-for-nigeria-ncdc-chief.html accessed April 29 2020.

6. Soonest Nathaniel, ‘25-Year-Old Manufactures, Unveils Nigeria’s First ‘Carbon Fibre’
Sports Car’ (Updated November 29, 2019). Available at
https://www.channelstv.com/2019/11/29/25-year-old-manufactures-unveils-nigerias￾first-carbon-fibre-sports-car/ accessed April 30 2020.

7. Soonest Nathaniel, ‘COVID-19: Nigeria’s Jerry Mallo Manufactures Ventilators to Help
Poor in Africa.’ (Updated April 30, 2020). Available at
https://www.channelstv.com/2020/04/30/covid-19-nigerias-jerry-mallo-manufactures￾ventilators-to-help-poor-in-africa/ accessed April 30 2020.

8. Tope Alake, ‘Nigeria Defends Slow Pace of Virus Testing as Concern Grows’ (April 24
2020, 08:54 BST Updated on April 24 2020, 13:20 BST). Available at
‘https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-24/nigeria-defends-slow-pace-of￾virus-testing-as-concern-grows accessed April 30 2020.

9. UK Vaccine Trial Volunteer Says She is ‘Doing Fine’ After Online Death Rumours (The
Guardian, April 26, 2020). Available at
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/26/uk-coronavirus-vaccine-trial-subject￾doing-fine-online-death-rumours-elisa-granato accessed April 29 2020.

10. Worldometer, ‘COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic’ (Last updated: April 30, 2020, 14:57
GMT). Available at
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?utm_campaign=homeAdUOA?Si. All
data from here were as reported by Worldometer on April 30, 2020, before 6 PM the
UK/Nigerian time and accessed April 30 2020

The Academic Staff Union of Universities , has described as an act of illegality the request by the Accountant General of the Federation , Ahmed Idris, that lecturers who had yet to receive their salaries should submit their Biometric Verification Number as a pre – condition for payment .

ASUU , in a statement entitled, ‘ This mountain shall be removed . ’ made available to journalists by the Chairman , ASUU , University of Ibadan chapter , Prof Ayo Akinwole, said the AGF’ s directive was at variance with the order of the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd . ) , that all striking lecturers should be paid by April 24 .

It said it remained committed to the demand for full implementation of agreements between ASUU and the Federal Government, including the payment of earned allowances from 2012 till date .

It read in part, “Section 1 . 6 of the CBN Regulatory Framework for BVN shows clearly those who are entitled to request for BVN and defines the procedure for obtaining it. The Accountant General of the Federation is neither eligible nor has he obtained a valid court order or approval from the CBN .

“ This is another case of illegality . A BVN is a very private instrument and should not be put in public space . It can easily be used for fraudulent activities. Staff emails and phone numbers are regularly sold to private organisations by government agencies .

“ To entrust one ’ s BVN to them will amount to committing suicide . Besides , government has the resources to verify financial information of staff from banks without requiring individuals to submit their BVNs to questionable sources. ”

The Academic Staff Union of Universities , has described as an act of illegality the request by the Accountant General of the Federation , Ahmed Idris, that lecturers who had yet to receive their salaries should submit their Biometric Verification Number as a pre – condition for payment .

ASUU , in a statement entitled, ‘ This mountain shall be removed . ’ made available to journalists by the Chairman , ASUU , University of Ibadan chapter , Prof Ayo Akinwole, said the AGF’ s directive was at variance with the order of the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd . ) , that all striking lecturers should be paid by April 24 .

It said it remained committed to the demand for full implementation of agreements between ASUU and the Federal Government, including the payment of earned allowances from 2012 till date .

It read in part, “Section 1 . 6 of the CBN Regulatory Framework for BVN shows clearly those who are entitled to request for BVN and defines the procedure for obtaining it. The Accountant General of the Federation is neither eligible nor has he obtained a valid court order or approval from the CBN .

“ This is another case of illegality . A BVN is a very private instrument and should not be put in public space . It can easily be used for fraudulent activities. Staff emails and phone numbers are regularly sold to private organisations by government agencies .

“ To entrust one ’ s BVN to them will amount to committing suicide . Besides , government has the resources to verify financial information of staff from banks without requiring individuals to submit their BVNs to questionable sources. ”

Kano State Governor , Abdullahi Ganduje , has asked the Federal Government to relax the 14 – day total lockdown imposed on the state .

The President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd . ) , had on Monday ordered a total lockdown in the state as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus disease in the state .

Buhari had also announced the deployment of a team of health experts to the state to address the rising cases of “ unusual deaths ” in the state .

Ganduje had immediately hailed the President ’ s decision , saying his increased focus on the state would help the state tackle the pandemic .

But speaking at the Government House during the inauguration of a panel to support the Kano State Task Force Technical Committee , the governor highlighted that it is important to relax the lockdown for a while so as to ease the hardship in the state .

“ We would engage the Presidential Task Force on COVID- 19 to seek permission to relax the total lockdown imposed on Kano.

“ We are making this appeal on behalf of our people who are presently running out of food items . We would love the federal government to relax the lockdown for a period of time to enable people stock their homes , especially now that majority of us are fasting . It will also ease the economic hardship in the state , ” Ganduje said , according to TheCable.

The Federal Government has released new guidelines for the new phase of containment of COVID- 19 from May 4 to May 17 , 2020 .

Part the guidelines which were signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation , Boss Mustapha , stated that anyone without a face mask in public will be prosecuted .

The guidelines were also specific about information to the general public , guidance to states and security agencies and description of activities allowed under the new phase .

The SGF said , “ Anyone who presents a temperature of above 38 ºC will be mandated to return home and call NCDC for evaluation.

“ Anyone without a face mask /covering will be asked to return home and will be prosecuted .

“ Anyone violating the curfew in a non – emergency situation will be prosecuted . Anyone attending a gathering of more than 20 people will be prosecuted .

“ Any member of the public who violates the ban on Inter – State movement as outlined in this guideline will be prosecuted . ”

The statement also stated guidelines for the ease of lockdown in Lagos , Ogun and the FCT.

It said , “ Following improvements in the multisectoral response to COVID- 19 pandemic , the Federal Government of Nigeria has decided that there will be a phased and gradual easing of the lockdown in Lagos and Ogun States as well as the Federal Capital Territory effective from Monday , 4 th May 2020 .

“ The easing of the lockdown will be characterised by the mandatory use of non – medical face mask /covering for all persons while in public spaces. Latex hand gloves should not be worn except for specific medical purposes.

“ The mandatory provision of handwashing facilities / sanitizers in all public places . All interstate travel is prohibited except for essential travels and services such as transportation of agricultural products , petroleum products , relief items , goods , commodities related to the COVID- 19 response , and persons on essential duty . ”

The new advisory also prohibited the mass gathering of more than 20 people outside of a workplace while there would be controlled access to markets and locations of economic activities. The FG retained the ban on all passenger flights with religious gatherings also restricted.

For intra – state travel in public transport , the guideline recommended a maximum of 50 per cent of usual occupancy while taxis were ordered to carry only four persons including the driver .

US President Donald Trump has threatened new tariffs against Beijing after claiming there is evidence linking the coronavirus to a lab in China ’ s ground – zero city of Wuhan .

Asked if he had seen anything giving him a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of the outbreak , Trump replied , “ Yes , I have. ”

The Republican is increasingly making complaints over Beijing ’ s handling of the pandemic outbreak a major issue for his November reelection campaign .

He told reporters at the White House that US agencies were investigating how the virus first emerged and what China had done to stop it spreading to the rest of the world .

“ We ’ ll be able to get a very powerful definition of what happened , ” he said , adding that a report would be made to him “ in the not too distant future . ”

But even as the issue remains under probe , Trump said he already has suspicions .

“ They could have stopped it, ” he said , attacking China for not cancelling international flights out of the country in time .

Several theories are circulating on how the virus appeared in Wuhan , including that it emerged from a market selling live animals or accidentally from the Wuhan research lab .

The US intelligence community said it had concluded that the novel coronavirus originated in China but was not man – made or engineered.

Pressed by reporters at the White House for details on what made him so confident about a link to the laboratory, Trump replied : “ I cannot tell you that . ”

Regardless of where the blame lies for the outbreak , Trump is ramping up a war of words with Beijing , claiming again that “ China doesn ’ t want to see me reelected. ”

Femi Adesina , Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ) says the ‘ Enemy of the State ’ who leaked his principal’ s draft speech on Monday is “ already answering for his evil action ” .

The social media had been inundated with the President ’ s draft speech a few hours before his address to the nation on Monday .

The document , though marred with typos and other errors , showed some similitude with the one read by the President .

A striking difference was that the draft speech stated that the lockdown in Federal Capital Territory Abuja , Lagos and Ogun States , would be lifted on Saturday, May 2 .

However , Buhari in his address later that evening said the gradual easing of lockdown in the three places would be effective Monday , May 4 .

Reacting through his column, ‘ From the Inside ’ , Adesina said “ an Enemy of the State struck in Nigeria on Monday ” , saying the person was guilty of “sabotage” and “ does not wish his own country well at all” .

He said , “ I took a look at the circulating document , and within one minute , I knew that it was a rogue copy .

“ I made a few phone calls to those of us involved with the script , right from origination , which was from outside the Presidency , to final editing , which I did , and the conclusion was easy to reach .

“ Who would do such a thing , except an Enemy of the State , someone who wants to ridicule the government ?

“ But he forgot that in these days of technology , almost everything leaves a trail . Before the end of that evening , computer evidence had narrowed down the suspect , and he was already answering for his evil action . ”

“ There is a way we release information from the media office of the President . And the media knows it. If a presidential speech was to be given ahead , there would be an embargo on it for a particular time . The circulating copy bore no embargo , yet they fell for it and got embarrassed by publishing inaccurate information , ” he said .

The Federal Government has ordered civil servants in the country to resume duties effective Monday , May 4 .

This was contained in a memo signed by the Head of Service of the Federation , Dr Folasade Yemi -Esan .

In the memo directed to all heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, the HoS said the workers would be allowed to work three times in a week and closing time would be 2 pm .

She stressed the observance of social distancing , use of face masks, hand sanitisers , and good general hygiene at all government offices while noting that all Federal Secretariats have been decontaminated and efforts were ongoing to do the same in other public offices.

She said , “Further to Mr President ’ s broadcast on a phased and gradual easing of the lockdown measures occasioned by COVID- 19 , officers on GL 14 and above and those on essential services are hereby directed to resume work with effect from Monday , May 4 , 2020 in the first instance .

“ Offices are to open three times a week – Monday , Wednesday , and Friday – and close at 2 pm on each day . ”

Anambra State Governor , Willie Obiano , has directed all workers in the state to resume work on Monday , May 4 .

The workers were ordered home by the state government about a month ago as a measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus .

But in a statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Solo Chukwulobelu , obtained by news correspondent , the workers were asked to be on their duty posts on Monday .
The statement included teachers amongst the category of workers that would resume work on Monday but stressed that primary and secondary school pupils in the area would remain at home.

The statement read in part , “The Governor of Anambra State , Willie Obiano , has directed that civil and public servants in the state , including primary and secondary school teachers resume work on Monday , 4 th of May , 2020 .

“ Pupils and students should still remain at home and follow Anambra Teaching On Air through ABS radio, ABS TV and ABS online platforms .

“ All workers in the state , and indeed all residents should procure protective face masks as this is now compulsory in Anambra State .

“ Workers and visitors will not be allowed access into the state secretariat and other government offices if they are not wearing face masks.

“ All should always observe strict personal hygiene protocols such as regularly washing of hands for 20 seconds each time, use of alcohol -based hand sanitisers and observing physical distancing guidelines.

“ These protocols must be followed at public gatherings which should not exceed 30 persons .

“ Places of worship should follow these strict personal hygiene protocols before and during worship, including compulsory wearing of face masks.

“ The places of worship should not sit more than two persons in a pier. The pier behind should be left vacant before sitting of congregants in another pier. Religious services should not last long. Vigils and other forms of religious night worship are not allowed this time. Congregants should disperse immediately, and not wait around after religious service . ”

Punch

US President Donald Trump said he’ll resume flying around the country from next week and looks forward to holding “wild” campaign rallies as soon as he can.

Trump told reporters in the White House that he is “going to Arizona next week and we look forward to that.”

This will be his first cross-country trip since the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the United States.

He added that he will visit Ohio, one of the key swing states in the November presidential election, “very soon.”

The Arizona trip is focused on the economic recovery effort and is not a campaign rally, “because it’s too soon” for crowded events in stadiums, Trump explained.

But the Republican — facing a tight re-election battle against Democratic challenger Joe Biden and burdened by dire approval ratings — made clear he wants to get back to his once frequent rallies as soon as possible.

“Hopefully in the not too distant future we’ll have some massive rallies and people will be sitting next to each other,” he said.

“I can’t imagine a rally where you have every fourth seat full…. That wouldn’t look too good,” he added.

“I hope that we’re going to be able to do some good old-fashioned 25,000 person rallies where everyone’s going wild because they love our country.”

At a meeting with industry leaders, Trump sounded an upbeat message, insisting that the US economy will quickly bounce back from the staggering costs of the shutdown required to stop the spreading novel coronavirus.

Despite some experts’ warnings that widespread social distancing will have to remain in effect until a vaccine is made, Trump predicted that the danger would fade by itself and said that the United States was equipped to extinguish any “embers.”

“We’re looking for vaccines, we’re looking for therapeutics also,” he said. “I’m not relying on that (vaccines), I hope that’s going to happen.”

“I want to get back (to a full economy) with or without (a vaccine), but obviously we have to wait till it’s gone. It will be gone,” he said.

Asked how the virus would be eradicated without a vaccine, which is not expected to be available soon, Trump responded:

“It’s going to go. It’s going to leave, it’s going to be gone, it’s going to be eradicated.”

[AFP]