An overnight curfew would then commence on the same date nationwide, as Africa’s most populous nation seeks to curb the spread of the contagious coronavirus and reopen its economy all at once.

Some businesses would be allowed to run skeletal services from 9am to 3pm nationwide. In Nigeria’s commercial hub of Lagos, State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has reeled out strict guidelines for individuals, banks, the public and private sectors and the transport sector.

In a nutshell, wearing face masks across Nigeria would become the new normal for a while and everyone would have to treat the next person as though they have the virus.

Maintaining physical and social distancing while boarding buses, commuting and visiting malls are no longer optional. In offices, colleagues would no longer huddle for grapevine chatter. Time-honored social habits will no longer apply everywhere.

With Nigeria’s economy suffering on account of the lockdowns, amid job losses and rapidly depleting bank accounts, President Muhammadu Buhari did the next best pragmatic thing by announcing an easing of shutdown measures nationwide, while leaving state governors with some wiggle room to tame the spread of the virus in their jurisdictions.

In declaring an easing of restrictions, the president had said: “Lockdowns have also come at a very heavy economic cost. Many of our citizens have lost their means of livelihood. Many businesses have shut down. No country can afford the full impact of a sustained lockdown while awaiting the development of vaccines.”

However, easing restrictions to revive a weakened economy could come with its consequences and setbacks.

"Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” says New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. “The 1918 influenza epidemic lasted over 10 months and came in three waves. The second wave was worse than the first wave. We must be cautious. The war isn’t won yet.”

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to rise with every late-night tweet from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC). Close to 3000 COVID-19 cases have now been reported in Lagos, the epicenter of the outbreak in Nigeria. The numbers from Abuja and Kano have also spiked in recent weeks--despite lockdowns.

Relaxing restrictions and allowing people to return to work in the middle of a pandemic, haven’t worked elsewhere either. In the United States, the governors of Ohio, Michigan and New York are wary of re-opening their economies for fear that reported COVID-19 cases could spike.

In Ghana, confirmed coronavirus cases surged above 2,000, increasing by 24% in a matter of days, after a three-week lockdown in the capital of Accra and in the city of Kumasi was lifted.

In Germany, the number of people infected with COVID-19 rose from about 0.7% to 0.96% after the country began lifting restrictions on April 20, according to Lothar Wieler who is head of the Robert Koch Research Institute.

The government of Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido acted quickly and contained an early outbreak of the coronavirus with a 3-week lockdown. However, the island was hit with a second wave of infections after restrictions were lifted. Hokkaido was forced into lockdown mode once again.

“Now I regret it, we should not have lifted the first state of emergency,” said Dr. Kiyoshi Nagase, chairman of the Hokkaido Medical Association, who helped coordinate the government’s initial response.

Opening up the Nigerian economy was always going to be inevitable at some point. With the world yet to find a cure for the virus, Nigerians would have to live with COVID-19 for the foreseeable future.

However, to prevent a dangerous and uncontrollable spike in COVID-19 cases in Nigeria and forestall a collapse of our fragile healthcare system, every Nigerian has to take plenty of responsibility and adhere to strict hygiene practices.

We all have to wear those face masks when outdoors or at work, use the hand sanitizers regularly, wash our hands regularly and maintain social and physical distancing.

Symptomatic Nigerians have to self-isolate quickly and the NCDC has to ramp up testing and contact-trace as quickly as possible. 

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has to do more by sensitizing Nigerians in rural areas and creating awareness for the barely educated in suburban settlements. Local governments have to earn their keep for once and take COVID-19 sensitization messages to the grassroot.

Federal and state governments have to enforce compliance with health guidelines and apprehend drivers who flout the interstate movement directive.

Finally, if we don’t want to regret lifting restrictions too early, we have to do exactly what the doctors and scientists are recommending at this time.

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Pulse Editorial Opinion is the opinion of the editorial team of Pulse. It does not represent the opinion of the organization Pulse.'