written by Lucille Augustine. 07/04/2020
The corona virus disease has been said to have originated from a Wuhan seafood market in China where wild animals, including marmots, birds, rabbits, bats and snakes, are traded illegally. Corona viruses are known to emanate from animals to humans, so it’s thought that the first people infected with the disease – a group primarily made up of stallholders from the seafood market – contracted it from contact with animals. This disease also known as covid-19 has now become a world wide outbreak.
The first case of covid-19 in Nigeria was detected on 27th February, 2020 when an Italian citizen tested positive to the virus in Lagos. The number of confirmed cases has since risen to 238 with 35 recoveries and 5 deaths.
Nigerian residents have been living in fear and anxiety as there is presently no cure for people suffering from this scourge yet the number of confirmed cases continue to rise.
Having tabled all of these, my message today is “There is Hope”
We cannot dismiss the fact that we (Nigeria) are actually at an advantage. I say this because long before the first case in Nigeria was confirmed, China and other European countries were already battling with this deadly disease for months. This gave the Nigerian government ample time and opportunity to learn from countries like China the strategies, policies and measures put in place to combat the spread of the virus.
China as we know has made considerable progress.
Social distancing is one of the measures adopted by the Nigerian government to curb the spread of Covid-19 as President Buhari wasted no time in calling for a lockdown of major cities ( Lagos, Abuja and Ogun) where a number of confirmed cases of the disease had been reported. Before this, Lagos state government had restricted movements and also kicked against social gatherings above 20 persons.
Other state governors were also proactive as they have initiated closure of borders and also exercised the lockdown rules.
There is Hope.
There is so much uncertainty as to when the scourge will end but I still would like to say there is hope that there will be an end to this crisis.
There has been lots of donation from local corporate entities and individuals, including foreign philanthropists to assist the Nigerian government in this fight.
The United Nations also contributed immensely. They as well commended Nigeria in our handling and control of the spread so far.
So I say , there is hope.
The only thing that seem to threaten the social distance call is hunger. The urban poor especially, are unable to stock their homes with food and other essentials in preparation for the lockdown as many of them are daily income earners.
So far there has been efforts by well meaning Nigerians to help provide relief items to the people. The government has made moves to provide palliative measures/ relief in this regard.
There is Hope.
Research procedures are being carried out by scientist around the globe in a bid to develop a vaccine for corona virus while countries are taking all precautionary measures as well as tightening social distancing rules .
Again I say there is hope.
With all this being said, I call on all Nigerian residents to work with the government and follow all guidelines and precautions as advised. Stop the spread or transmission of fake news and allow first responders carry out their jobs effectively.
Fellow Nigerians, let’s hang in there. We will get through this.
There is Hope for us. There is Hope for the world.
There is Hope.
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