Coronavirus, known as COVID-19, which has been devastating the world since last December, has not reached Anambra, Nigeria’s safest state. Still Governor Willie Obiano has shut down schools and directed civil servants, not on essential services, to work from home. He set up a 23-person Coronavirus Attack Team to work against the contagion in the state.
To underscore the importance of the team’s work, Governor Obiano chose to head the team himself. Other members include the Speaker of the House of Assembly; the Secretary to the State Government; the Chief of Staff to the Governor; the Commissioner for Health and his counterpart in Information and Public Enlightenment; the state Commissioner of Police, heads of the two teaching hospitals in the state and specialists from relevant fields.
The Anambra State government has once again demonstrated its belief that prevention is better than cure. Had the Italian, American and British leaders, for instance, acted promptly as Anambra State government when the contagion was reported in their respective nations, the situation would not have been as cataclysmic as it is in each of these places today. The Anambra State administration is the first government in the country to call citizens’ attention to the grave danger which the contagion poses.
It played this role because it is fully conscious that its people are the most travelled in the country, and they frequently visit China and other nations hit by the pandemic for business. The government has also taken other measures like suspending burials of up to 30 persons, parties and title taking ceremonies till the situation improves.
Ndi Anambra need to cooperate fully with the government in the campaign against the COVID-19. There are a lot of markets and motor parks as well as churches in the state which record very large numbers of people. The Onitsha Main Market is reputed to be the largest open market in West Africa. Movement in the market is difficult because of the large crowd of people who buy and sell there daily, including those who come from West and Central Africa. In other words, the markets and motor garages in Nigeria are potential areas where the virus can spread fast, since it is contracted mostly through person-to-person contact and physical surfaces.
There are unfortunately people who are not yet aware of the virus. This ignorance is more pronounced in rural areas. Worse, there are people who are aware of the disease, but strangely believe that it cannot get to Nigeria because of the false belief that it cannot survive in our hot climate. This belief persists despite that the fact that there are already over 40 COVID-19 patients in Nigeria, including the son of a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar.
More disheartening is the large group of Nigerians, many of them educated, who believe, for superstitious and other strange reasons, that they cannot be infected. There are, in addition, those who believe that the disease can be treated easily with honey, garlic, ginger and hot water. Ndi Anambra are enjoined to seek proper treatment from hospitals to manage viral outbreaks like the Coronavirus. Symptoms of the disease are high fever, vomiting, cough, sneezing and difficult breathing. Any person showing any of these symptoms should not indulge in self medication on the assumption that he or she is afflicted by malaria or any common disease but should rather contact the state’s Public Health Emergency Operation Centre via telephone numbers 080-309-537-71 and 081-175-673-63.
A person may be a carrier without showing any of the symptoms. This is why the government has been advising persons who have in the last two weeks visited any of the countries with up to 1000 recorded cases of COVID-19 to isolate themselves for 14 days. The earlier the disease is detected, the easier it is to treat. The government will bear the treatment cost. There are three hospitals in the state with isolation centres. They are Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital, Awka and Onitsha General Hospital. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Hospital, Ekwulobia General Hospital and Umueri General Hospital have surge centres. They can absorb patients who are not accommodated in the 3 hospitals with isolation centres based on existing facilities.
Traditional Rulers, Presidents-General of town unions, market groups, transport unions, trade unions, professional groups, the organized private sector, civil servants as well as religious leaders should be in the frontlines of the campaign to ensure that our state is spared COVID-19. Government or medical doctors cannot fight this monster alone, but every person should.
Let us wash our hands regularly with running water and soap for 20 seconds. We must air-dry our hands instead of drying them with towel or handkerchief because it may be contaminated, use hand sanitizers always, not shake hands or hug each other, keep away from people by some six feet, and regularly clean door handles and rail surfaces with liquids containing up to 60% alcohol. The Anambra State Government has shown the light, and the people are happily finding the way. God bless Anambra State, the Light of the Nation.
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