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Doris Obinna
Following the first index case of the coronavirus (Covid-19) in Nigeria, the social media has been abuzz, with many expressing anxiety over Nigeria’s capacity to curtail the disease.
Fear has gripped many as Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with a fragile health system, records its first case. Many are worried that the country might be ill-prepared to tackle the disease.
In Lagos State, where the Italian believed to have imported the virus into the country touched down before moving to Ogun State, government said that its emergency operations centre has been activated to attend to the coronavirus case.
The 44-year-old Italian, on arrival, took ill and reported to the company’s health facility before he was referred to Lagos where he was tested. He had spent a night in a Lagos hotel after arriving Lagos from Milan via Istanbul.
Since the coronavirus was discovered, experts have raised concerns, considering the state’s high population density and wondered whether the Federal Government would be able to combat and contain the spread of the deadly virus.
While the state government is working to identify all the contacts of the patient since he arrived the country, experts say it is important to also note that transmission to other humans could be bad if those ones have compromised immunity at the time of contact.
In 2014, the first case of Ebola confirmed in Lagos set off alarm bells within and outside the country as it unleashed a wave of panic among residents. In the end, Lagos recorded seven deaths from a total of 19 infected.
In their reaction to the virus making landfall in Lagos, some residents have resorted to prayers. Others have tasked the Federal Government and states to rise up to their responsibilities in safeguarding the health of citizens.
One resident said she still hoped that the news of the virus in Nigeria was false. When asked why she wouldn’t believe the news, she quipped: “Are you not a Nigerian? If the said virus lands in our country, then Nigeria is finished going by what is happening in China.
“Where would they start from? Do you know the number of doctors that leave the shores of this country for better job opportunities every day? The few doctors who are left, not by choice though, how much do you pay them to warrant them risking their lives?”
Another resident, Lawal Tunji, who said he was an engineer, doubted the authenticity of the news. In his view, it’s a scam to siphon money from Nigeria’s purse.
“Look, the country is corrupt. Our politicians can do and undo, as far as money is involved. If you don’t know, know it now: our leaders have a way of inventing one project or the other, which will benefit them. Do you know how many billions of naira will go into this coronavirus case?
“Well, if the reports are true, my take is, since we claim to be the giant of Africa, this is the time to prove that giant in us,” he said.
Also, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ibeh, who said she and her family were taking necessary precautions, added that she was going all out to ensure that her household understood the implications of not adhering to proper hygiene standards: “You know, nobody wants to die. The virus is deadly and no one would wish to be visited with such calamities.”
A senior health worker, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, lamented that hospitals were understaffed. He decried the way and manner health workers, especially doctors, were being used.
“Our leaders are always fond of saying something and not following it with action. They play politics with everything, to the detriment of the people,” he said
According to the source, about 11 doctors were employed same year some three years ago, regretting that only five doctors were now left. The six other doctors that also left did so for reasons ranging from poor working conditions, welfare, emoluments and others. To work in this kind of high infectious area takes a lot of grace and the level of preparedness in the state for infectious diseases such as coronavirus and Lassa fever is zero.”
The health worker said the standard medical operational procedure is to track all contacts and have them quarantined to avoid further spread of the virus. “But we cannot do that here because we lack such facility, which is why there is emphasis on self-quarantine.”
He also asserted that the Mainland Hospital does not have a ready and designated facility to isolate and treat Lassa fever patients.
“Just imagine, the place meant for isolation of Lassa fever patients is still under construction. Lassa fever, which has been ravaging the country for years now and has even recorded high number of casualties, has no ready facility where patients can be quarantined.
“The place has been under construction for some months now and not yet completed. As you can see,” pointing to the structures, “the place is hurriedly being put together,” he said.
“It is really sad that a country like Nigeria is never ready to medically contain infectious disease outbreaks. This is why most health workers leave the country for greener pastures, because they are predisposed to danger of infection,” he said.
The senior health worker also argued that government’s refusal to spend money on health and crumbling infrastructure, corruption and the departure of doctors to better paying jobs abroad are eating away at the sector.
Meanwhile, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, on Friday said the state government was prepared to contain and break the circle of transmission of the coronavirus.
He said that the government had been building capacity for any biosecurity threats to Lagos since the Ebola virus incident of 2014.
“We have been preparing since the Ebola incident of 2014 and as soon as Lagos was certified Ebola-free, we have been building capacity. This is evident in the level of sophistication in some of the facilities here at Mainland Hospital. We have not been sitting down or relaxing, we don’t want to experience what happened in 2014 again, so we are ready and we will continue to build that capacity year by year,” Abayomi said.
