EDITORIAL: COVID-19 Protocols in Nigeria

Against all expectations, Nigeria and indeed the rest of Africa have fared better than expected during the COVID-19 pandemic which was expected to ravage the continent with hundreds of deaths.

The statistics are telling. In Nigeria, there have been 60, 430 infections and 1, 115 deaths.

The recent update is that a total of 1,942 cases have been confirmed between September 28th and 11th October. Cases are rising but deaths are declining.

The virus may be running its course into herd immunity. But we must know that COVID-19 is still with us and be so guided.

The NCDC has established protocols in terms of infection prevention, management and control of the disease. On September 5, the Federal Ministry of Information & Culture released new quarantine protocols for travelers arriving in Nigeria.

This requires a negative COVID-19 PCR test within five days (120 hours) before departure from countries that visitors travel from, and the same after arrival in Nigeria. Children of 10 years old and younger no longer require the PCR test.

The protocol came into effect on September 18. Additionally, as the Nigerian government began to gradually implement eased lockdown on schools, religious and business places, there have been specific protocols they must follow.

These do not exclude politics and politicking as the NCDC has stated guidelines for conducting elections.

The protocols have faced many challenges that should be of concern to the nation.

First, reopening of schools did not exclude many privately-owned ones that are not COVID-19 protocol-compliant in terms of structure and kits. Such schools exist especially in rural areas and urban suburbs.

They are mostly run in residential apartments of crowded rooms in which physical distancing is difficult to maintain.

Besides, in a bid to save cost, proprietors of such schools easily ignore buying recommended temperature gauges, nose masks and sanitizers that could curb the spread of the disease.

The situation in such schools is like what obtains in private, religious, and business places too.

Except the orthodox churches, central mosques, and the large, well-established business outfits, it is not clear if others respect the COVID-19 protocols to the standards recommended by the NCDC.

Enforcement of protocols at Nigerian airports has not been too different from business as usual.

Many have alleged that security agents often look the other way after being compromised by incoming and outgoing passengers.

They have also been accused of culpability in the scam of sending arrival passengers to non-existent test centres.

The testing procedures are also alleged to have been massively abused as people bribe to get the results which they want.

Several travelers are reported to have escaped into society without the proper test.

In the last two gubernatorial elections in Edo and Ondo states, compliance with the NCDC election conduct protocols was abysmal.

Governments at all levels should check the abuse of the protocols from international entry points.

People who come into Nigeria should be tested, get isolated for the required period, and compelled to follow other aspects of the protocols before being allowed to mingle with the society.

As schools, religious places and businesses are reopening, COVID-19 protocols should be enforced to the letter in terms of structures, logistics and kits.

Only recently, the Lagos State Government confirmed 181 COVID-19 cases in a private boarding school in Lekki.

To forestall a spread of such alarming situation, schools and businesses that are not COVID-19 protocol-compliant should be shut down till they comply.

There may not be any other off-cycle gubernatorial election in Nigeria after the ones in Edo and Ondo states in the near future; however those that will come under different senatorial districts should be made by INEC to follow NCDCapproved election conduct guidelines.

It is much easier to enforce compliance at such micro electoral levels than the gubernatorial.

In all, general enforcement of the protocols should be strengthened across the nation.

We advise Nigerians generally that, although we are not as affected by COVID-19 as other parts of the world have been, we should not push our luck too far by ignoring the NCDC-established protocols.

This advice is for the good of the whole nation and is especially instructive at this point when our airports are open to people from Europe, America and many parts of the world where COVID-19 is ravaging towns and cities.

Protesting youths too should respect the protocols so they can live healthy to enjoy the fruits of their struggles.

Nigerians should be encouraged to wash their hands, observe social distancing, wear face masks and use hand sanitizers to keep free of the virus.

We should not lapse into a sense of false security by asserting without proof that coronavirus cannot kill Africans.

In marketplaces, churches, mosques and schools, the government should continue to enforce the protocols.