Flattening COVID-19 Second Wave: Why reorientation is paramount in local communities
The expanding wings of the COVID-19 virus keep growing wide as that of an untamed bird. The subject matter, no doubt, has become one of a public discourse brewing clusters of reservations. As efforts from the Government continue to face what has been described as ‘recalcitrant conduct’ from the populace over the virus, the need for thoughtfulness has become sacrosanct. Tuesday’s report of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on its official website, disclosed that no less than 1,301 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded, which brought the total number of infected people in the Country to 113,305. In the report, the new cases were recorded in 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. On breakdown, the NCDC disclosed that Lagos recorded the highest number of new cases with 551, followed by the FCT 209, Oyo State 83 and Plateau State 65. Records from other States had revealed: Kaduna (64), Enugu (61), Rivers (44), Ondo (39), Benue (37), Akwa Ibom (31), Kano (19), Delta (18), Gombe (18), Ogun (16), Edo (15), Kebbi (10), Ebonyi (nine), Jigawa (four), Osun and Zamfara three each, Borno and Nasarawa, one each.
The statistics of the report revealed that about 1,191,866 people have so far been tested since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was recorded in the Country on February, 27, 2020. It was disclosed that 1,261 patients had been discharged from isolation centres after testing negative to the virus. The NCDC noted that the discharges included 702 community recoveries in Lagos State, 157 in the FCT and 143 in Plateau. It noted that a total of 91,200 patients had so far been discharged following their recovery from COVID-19. 24 hours prior to releasing the report, the Agency recorded a fatality of 15 COVID-19-related deaths across the Country, while a total of 1,464 patients were reported dead from the disease so far. The Agency which said that a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) activated at Level 3, is coordinating response activities nationwide, had urged the public to stem the rate of infection by avoiding close contact, wearing cloth face masks in public places and practising good hygiene.
As Lagos remains the epicenter of the virus in Nigeria since its incursion into the State in February, statistics of the State’s profile as of Tuesday in the fight against COVID-19 reveal that as of 17th January 2021, Lagos has recorded a total of 41,374 confirmed cases of COVID-19; of which 28,452 has recovered and rehabilitated within the communities, while 9,213 cases are currently active. Amidst the second wave, the records of the State made known on Tuesday showed that in the last 11 months about 3,776 COVID-19 related patients have been admitted into the States care centres, with a registered fatality rate of approximately 0.67 per cent (277 cases). A total of 263,358 tests have been conducted between public and private laboratories, among which 41,374 were diagnosed positive to the virus.
New strategies deployed by the State Government to flatten the curve of the virus revolve around Oxygen cylinders, private sector collaboration (isolation centres and labs); Home-based care strategies; New travel protocols; and Non-pharmaceutical interventions, among others. According to Governor Sanwo-Olu in a briefing at the State House, Ikeja, on Tuesday, as part of the strategies employed towards managing the second wave of the virus, the State has made provisions for more oxygen cylinders at the isolation centres, as efforts have been made to decentralise the availability of oxygen across the State through the provision of 10 oxygen and sampling kiosks.
It cannot be argued that negligible conduct of many in the local communities towards living by the protocols of safety against COVID-19 is not unconnected with the massive spread of the virus. The popular perception of the virus as a scam the Government is using to siphon public funds, has been another bane which informs why many at the local communities defy the necessity to live by the required collaborative efforts towards stemming down the spread of the virus. The importance of a reorientation is key towards flattening the curve of the virus. It is essential for the Government to strengthen its enlightenment campaign on the veracity of the virus and its hazardous threats against the populace.
Argument has been raised that numbers of death related to COVID-19 which are out of record, is another potent force of concern not on the captured list of fatality profile. The significance of refining the thought towards the management of the virus is paramount on the part of the masses. It is disheartening that despite the spread of virus, the culture of partying, clubbing and feasting have no less subsided in majority of the local communities across the Country. The attitudinal posture of lack of restraint at local community levels, has been a social default that is hostile to flattening the curve of the virus in the Country. A change in this regard is paramount to give headway in the fight to stem down the second wave of the virus which is hitting a hard blow on the Country.
The necessity to begin to strictly imbibe such safety protocols as social distancing; wearing of nose masks; cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces consistently; avoiding sharing of dishes, glasses, bedding and other household items with symptomatic persons; among others, remains sacrosanct as measures the populace need to imbibe in the campaign against the spread of COVID-19. The reality of the nature of the virus and its corresponding character, is therefore such which demands corroborating efforts from both the Government authorities and the people at large. The communal character of unrestrained socialisation at the local communites may therefore not be applicable in this regard, if the curve of the virus were to be flattened effectively. Just as it is important for the Government to scale up its efforts towards stemming down the spread of the virus with strategic moves, it is equally essential that the populace embrace and imbibe the new patterns of personal and social conducts in their cohabitation as demanded by the present circumstances posed by COVID-19.
