COVID-19: How lockdown benefits the country – Medical experts
Locking down the country holds a lot of benefits in curbing the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country, medical experts have said.
A lockdown is an emergency protocol that prevents people from leaving a given area. The protocol is usually initiated by someone in a position of authority as a security measure or to halt the spread of diseases.
Dr Biodun Ogungbo, a neurosurgeon with Brain and Spine Surgery Consortium said the federal government should enforce strict lockdown all over the country.
“Limit the deaths that are surely on our doorsteps. Force people off the streets. Keep them safely at home. Save lives,” he advised.
He said without a lockdown, the COVID-19 virus spreads uncontrollably within a few months to infect virtually 100% of the population.
He said the disease could be brought under control within a month with a lockdown, adding that “two months later it is as good as gone.”
Dr Ogungbo said that the slower government enforces a lockdown, the greater the loss of lives saying, “for example, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (USA) will see tens of thousands of deaths between them, possibly hundreds of thousands, because of their governments’ slow actions. Spain has now turned an icerink into a mortuary to cope with the number of deaths.”
He said China’s lockdown commenced on January 23 and daily deaths started falling less than a month later. “Another month after that, it was down to less than 10 a day. In Italy, lockdowns started just over a month ago, and the number of deaths has recently fallen two days in a row.”
Dr Ogungbo said every government in the world would eventually be forced to enforce lockdowns once their own death numbers shoot up.
Dr Aminu Magashi, Coordinator, Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN), recommended a partial lockdown leaving essential services including hospitals, pharmacies and few outlets in markets that sell food items and other essential needs.
He said partially locking down the country would interrupt the spread of the virus, adding that the easiest way to acquire the virus was social interactions such as mingling in the workplace, markets and crowded gatherings among others.
Magashi however said there should be exceptions. He said health workers should be allowed to move around and hospitals should continue to work.
He said ambulances and staff of the Federal Road Safety Corps, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Federal Fire Services and their vehicles should be allowed to move around and provide essential services.