Days after early detection of a new COVID strain in the UK, the deadly virus may have found its way to Nigeria again.
An internal memo from the National Obstetric Fistula Centre, Abakaliki, dated August 22, 2023, urged members of the hospital community to embrace safe social distancing practices. “Sore throat that resembles strep throat, and of course, is more virulent and with a higher mortality rate. It takes less time to go to extremes. Sometimes without symptoms. Be more careful,” the memo read.
While we await official directions from the Nigeria Centre For Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), here are a few things we should do in the case of a pandemic or another lockdown.
Make the test centres affordable
Getting tested in the heat of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic was pure chaos. Apart from the limited test centres, the prices weren’t encouraging for the average Nigerian. As of January 2022, the Lagos State govt announced a reduction of test fees from ₦50,400 to ₦45,250, but most people can still not afford the test. The consequence is infected people moving around with no diagnosis, dismissing their symptoms as common cases of flu.
Jail term for palliative hoarders
People are dying and starving, but Nigerian politicians would rather hoard Indomie in secret warehouses and gift them as owambe souvenir? God, abeg. We know Bubu gave zero shits, but Jagaban needs to liaise with the relevant authorities and push a law that mandates jail term for erring politicians.
Price control on pandemic essentials
I remember painfully handing out my last ₦1k to a hawker who inflated the prices of her nose masks simply because she was the only seller available. Other pandemic essentials like hand sanitisers, anti-bacterial wipes and toilet rolls were inflated just for the sake of it. We need Jagaban and the relevant authorities to take proactive measures against the capitalists looking to profit from general suffering.
Make public handwashing permanent
Pandemic or not, handwashing should be a common practice because Nigeria is dirty. Our public hygiene is appaling, to say the least. And while handwashing was mandated during the pandemic, the practice has since been shelved. Banks and other public spaces have packed up or just abandoned the makeshift wash-hand basins stationed at their entrances.
Include condoms in palliative care packages
We already have enough people in Nigeria and don’t need couples bumping up the populace with more pandemic babies. The ministry in charge of palliatives should please include sufficient packs of condoms. You can mekwe, but let the babies stay in heaven with God in these sensitive times.
Designers should step up
Imagine showing up in your wardrobe’s best and having to ruin your drip because of the surgical face masks. This was the case for many people in 2020. Now that COVID is raring its ugly head again, we need the Mai Atafos and Ugo Monyes to get creative. You can prevent yourself from catching the virus and still look fly AF. Two truths can co-exist, or how do they say it?
Prepare to blow
The 2020 COVID lockdown blessed us with a new wave of celebs like Omah Lay, Enioluwa, Khaby Lame and hundreds other influencers who were completely unknown before then. Do you see where I’m going with this? Now is the time to perfect all your content ideas so that opportunity can meet you prepared.
