By Martin Cole-
Nigeria has reported a spike in infections , just hours after lockdown was relaxed
Number of COVID-19 cases increased by 245, the day Nigeria began phasing out lockdown measures implemented in three of the country’s biggest cities, Lagos State, Abuja, and Ogun State. taking the total number of infections in the country stands at 2,802, including 93 deaths and 417 recoveries .The total number of infections in the country stands at 2,802, including 93 deaths and 417 recoveries.
A total of 245 new cases were confirmed on Monday by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), 73 of them in the country’s commercial capital Lagos.The total number of infections in the country stood at 2,802 on Tuesday, including 93 deaths. The reports about the spikes in Covid-19 cases came just hours after the government relaxed restrictions in Abuja, Ogun and Lagos states, after more than four weeks of lockdowns imposed to contain the new coronavirus.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari had included an overnight curfew, mandatory face masks in public and a ban on non-essential interstate travel. The lockdown led to intensified stress by the 40% of the country that live from hand to mouth and rely on daily work for survival. Provision of food was made in many parts of the country where lockdown was imposed, but this was in some cases compromised by quarrels over rationing . The ease of the lockdown comes as a relief to those who tasted the inconvenience if being restricted to their homes under challenging conditions
Rules
The Nigerian government has stipulated rules of no more than 20 people gathering together, and tat individuals remain two metres (6.6 feet). However, sources from the Nigerian media told The Eye Of Media.Com that social distancing is impractical in a country like Nigeria.
A source from the Nigerian Vanguard said: Nigeria is so amorphous that the call for social distancing, as important as it may be, will always be very difficult for most Nigerians going about their daily lives. A visit to a busy market in one f our cities will instantly tell you how impractical social distancing will be in many settings in Nigeria”.
President Buhari has also waived import duty on all medical supplies. The blanket waiver on equipment and supplies is part of government’s “efforts to strengthen health infrastructure in response to the COVID-19 pndemic.”
Before now, importers had only been granted tax reliefs as announced by the Finance Minister who weeks back said government was liaising with stakeholders in the area.
This is the latest on a list of fiscal policies by the federal government to cushion the industry from the economic impact of the pandemic. Among the guidelines issued with respect to public places include: Mandatory wearing of face masks, adherence to temperature checks, strict handwashing and use of sanitizers, observance of physical distancing and ban on public gathering.
Passenger flights remain prohibited as are interstate travel, governors last month agreed on the latter. Neighbourhood markets are to open thrice a week between 8 am and 3 pm. Mysterious deaths in Kano state have been linked to COVID-19 according to the Presidential task Force coordinating the pandemic response. Sani Gwarzo, national coordinator of the task force confirmed the link in an interview with journalists in Kano.
“We have five cogent reasons to say that the mass death recorded in Kano is associated with coronavirus.”
He listed a number of them as the age of the deceased persons, concentration of the people in one place and “test we have constructed which have element of COVID-19,” Sani Gwarzo, national coordinator of the Task Force told journalists in Kano. Gwarzo plans to release a final report in the next one week or few days, “it is necessary for people of Kano to wake up from their slumber that this is a serious issue.
“We need to know what is happening we are successful in identifying what the problems are and secondly we are happy on the level of cooperation the private sector and other stake holders. Many people have come out to support the state we cannot expand our investigation until we are certain,” he stressed.