We all know the new words that has been added to our dictionary today due to their regular use this year. Some of these words are: palliatives, coronavirus, COVID-19, face mask, nose mask, social distance, lockdown, quarantine, stay safe, stay-at-home, recovery, new infection, etc. Now let me tell you about COVID-19 and how it came into my country.
COVID-19 is a family of coronaviruses that causes mild to severe respiratory illnesses such as: Cough, head ache, loss of taste, loss of appetite, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. It was first discovered in Wuhan, a town in China, in November, 2019 and has already spread to most of the town and it's surrounding cities before it was reported to WHO in December 2019. By January, 2020 all continents except Africa has reported at least one case of the virus.
The incubation period for COVID-19 is 2 - 14 days after exposure to the virus. Most people who contract the virus will most likely recover, with over 80% of people who get infected recover without needing intensive care. Majority of the severe cases are in those over 50.
Nigeria reported her first COVID-19 case on Thursday February 27 making it the second country in Africa to report at least an infection. With South Africa being the first. The first infection case in Nigeria was from an Italian expat who is based in Lagos and was just returning from his vacation from his home city in Milan. After the first case of the virus in Nigeria, Nigeria commenced contact tracing immediately. On March 23, 2020, Nigeria imposed a 14-day total lockdown of activities except essential services to curb the spread of the virus. At the end of the 14 days lockdown, Nigeria extended the lockdown for four weeks, to further curb the spread of the virus.
Due to the effect of the total lockdown on the Nation's economy, Nigeria decided to ease the lockdown in phases. The first phase lasted two weeks, the second, four, third, four, on and on. Following her decrease in fatality rate, Nigeria reopened her Senior Secondary Schools on Monday August 4, to allow her students sit for the West African Senior Secondary Schools Examination (WASSCE) but the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 restated the fact that decrease in fatality rate wasn't flattening the curve and so reopening of Schools Nationwide is dangerous.
Following the dwindling down of the number of cases and fatality rates in Nigeria, the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) said that it is now noticing the flattening of the COVID19 curve and sense that it was now safe to reopen schools Nationwide, but reiterated the fact that social distancing and other COVID-19 protocols has to be observed.
Thank you for reading my article, I love you 😘
Shalom!✌️
