COVID-19 AND THE DELTA STRAIN

Nigerians should adhere to non-pharmaceutical measures to save lives

Afew weeks after the warning against travelling to or returning from countries currently experiencing the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) last week confirmed a case with the highly transmissible COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) Delta variant. Said to have been detected in an in-bound traveller following the usual routine check, the Indian strain has been linked to a surge in cases in countries where it is the dominant strain with ongoing studies to understand its impact on existing vaccines and therapeutics. This is another wake-up call for the country as we urge the authorities to do everything that will avert a Covid-19 disaster in Nigeria.

The Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, last month placed travel ban on dozens of travellers who failed to observe the mandatory protocols put in place against the spread of the virus. But available reports indicate that there are no enforcement mechanisms for these rules and where they exist, they are not effective. Apart from travellers who routinely flout these protocols, majority of Nigerians no longer obey the non-pharmaceutical measures like the use of face masks, maintaining social distance, among others. In a very revealing update yesterday, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, highlighted the challenge of monitoring passengers who enter the country. While admonishing non-accredited Covid-19 treatment centres to refer suspected cases to the appropriate medical centres, the governor also appealed to religious leaders to minimise their gatherings and observe laid down protocols to avoid any catastrophe.

We agree with the governor that Covid-19 infection is still very much around and could snowball to what has been experienced in countries like the United States, Turkey, Brazil, as well as India, if the citizens continue to flout existing preventive protocols. This warning is particularly important, especially now that some countries have started experiencing a third wave of the pandemic occasioned by a more fast-growing new strain which has posed to be deadlier than the previous strains that had wrought global disruptions for more than a year.

Nigeria cannot handle the experience of India where the surge once overwhelmed hospitals, morgues and crematoriums and left several families scrambling for scarce medicines and oxygen. Health experts in the country believed mass religious gatherings and political rallies were the major factors responsible for the problem that led to the death of thousands. Should the same surge occur in Nigeria due to the carelessness of many of our citizens, the country does not have the healthcare and structural capacity needed to manage cases.

We call on every Nigerian to sustain the precautions that have ensured the number of infections did not outgrow the health system. Religious clerics, traditional rulers and other stakeholders must lead the efforts for the continued adherence to laid down infectious disease protocols put in place by the Nigerian government. “Proven public health and social measures such as physical distancing, frequent handwashing, and proper use of face masks, prevent infections and save lives”, according to a statement by the NCDC which urged states “to ensure sample collection and testing for COVID-19 is accessible to the public.”

No time is more apt for the collective effort against COVID-19 than now, especially since the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), NCDC and the Federal Ministry of Health have not done much to vaccinate the public. In a country where less than one per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated, we cannot afford to be careless. In the absence of an effective COVID-19 vaccine distribution across board, all the country has for now are the infectious disease protocols which must be adhered to pending when every Nigerian receives the jab.

Under the prevailing circumstance in Nigeria, prevention remains the most plausible cure.

PROVEN PUBLIC HEALTH AND SOCIAL MEASURES SUCH AS PHYSICAL DISTANCING, FREQUENT HANDWASHING, AND PROPER USE OF FACE MASKS, PREVENT INFECTIONS AND SAVE LIVES