Coronavirus: Government needs to do more to contain the outbreak in Nigeria

Government needs to do more to contain the Coronavirus outbreak in Nigeria [Pulse Editorial]

March 18, 2020 6:22 PM

There was always the fear that a coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in sub-Saharan Africa could overwhelm already strained and weakened public healthcare systems on the continent.

Government needs to do more to contain the Coronavirus outbreak in Nigeria

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, now has 7 confirmed cases of the highly contagious virus and 5 testing centres which are unarguably inadequate for a nation of roughly 200 million people.

Most states in Nigeria are ill-equipped or health workers ill-trained to contain the virus and this could get a whole lot worse if the virus pervades rural Nigeria where most folks are advanced in age and barely informed about the virus.

Lagos, which is Nigeria’s biggest and most sophisticated city with some 20 million people, can only handle 2,000 cases according to Bamidele Mutiu, who heads a regional biosafety team.

To be fair, the Nigerian government handled the index case of the virus in late February, professionally and commendably. The 44-year-old Italian was immediately isolated at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos. Reports say he is now in a stable condition. All contacts who shared the Turkish Airline flight with him and who he met in Ogun, were also quarantined and have been declared free from the virus.

Nigerian Airports officials screening visitors coming into the country for Coronavirus. [Twitter/@MansurIB007] Pulse Nigeria

However, there was always the fear that the index case could have infected more, and that more travellers from high-risk countries could bring the virus with them to Nigeria aboard aeroplanes or through the nation’s porous land borders. With additional cases of the virus now confirmed from travellers from the United Kingdom and the United States, those fears can no longer be dismissed as unfounded.

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These new cases have called the government’s measures into question, especially as it previously resisted calls to restrict travel from high-risk countries.

The Nigerian government has finally banned air travel from 13 high-risk countries, but some believe this to have come too late as the new confirmed cases may have already transmitted the virus to people they came in close contact with.

In densely populated Lagos with its chaotic transport system, there is the possibility that many infected persons have been asymptomatic thus far and may have transmitted the virus to family, friends and strangers.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu paid a visit to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport to assess screening of inbound passengers for Coronavirus. [Twitter/@jidesanwoolu] Pulse Nigeria

In any case, it’s better late than never for Nigeria. The Chikwe Ihekweazu-led Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Federal Ministry of Health will have their hands full in the weeks and months ahead as Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy battles this outbreak.

ALSO READ: Nigeria confirms 5 new cases of coronavirus

Time honoured contact tracing, quarantine and isolation techniques at the speed of light will come in handy and we all have to strictly adhere to personal and respiratory hygiene protocols like hand washing and social distancing.

Nigeria can beat COVID-19 if we all support the government and if health workers and government officials communicate transparently, in a timely manner, and treat each reported case with the urgency it demands.

It’s all in our hands now.

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