As academic activities resume in most schools across the country, it behoves the students and other stakeholders to strictly adhere to all safety precautions, protocols and guidelines put in place by both the institutions and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) with a view to containing and preventing further spread of the deadly second wave of COVID-19.
This becomes necessary as any further increase in the number of cases will not only escalate the number of deaths of the victims but will also deal a devastating blow on the fragile economy of the country, which is yet to recover from the previous lockdown.
It would be recalled that following the increase in number of recorded cases of Coronavirus in the country the schools were ordered closed by the various state governments on the Federal Government’s directive while some states directed their workers on certain grade levels to be working from home.
For instance, Lagos State government, which had earlier directed its public servants on Grade Levels 14 and below to be working from home till January 18, extended the resumption to Monday, February 1, 2021. The directive on the extension of the resumption date was taken by the governor to successfully curtail the spread of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the state. Expectedly, the directive excludes Essential Duty Staff, as well as First Responders.
The reopening of all tertiary institutions was due to the recent call off of the prolonged industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
There was anxiety over resumption of schools across Nigeria, with some changing the initial date in the wake of the second wave of COVID-19 spike. The discordant tunes on the resumption date by the stakeholders, made the students not resuming at the same time.
While the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF) announced last December that January 18, 2021 was slated for the resumption of schools across the country, the same PTF later at a press briefing said the Minister of Education Adamu Adamu said the date was not sacrosanct in view of the rising cases of the pandemic.
When ASUU called off the prolonged strike, the National Universities Commission (NUC) announced January 18 date for the resumption of all universities.
Now that several states had complied with the resumption of schools amid the increasing number of those infected by the virus across the states, students and the entire University Community are enjoined to wear facemasks, observe social distancing and wash their hands at the designated points regularly in all the campuses of the universities.
Students, teachers and other stakeholders in the academic environment are urged to prioritize health safety to ensure safety amid widespread of COVID-19 second wave. It should be noted that this is one of the most challenging periods in the history of mankind, as we continue to compete for sanity, serenity and safety between our daily routine and the current challenge ravaging the environment.
Additionally, accounting officers of the various officials should ensure strict compliance with all extant directives aimed to guarantee physical/social distancing in the work place through weekly preparation of duty rosters as considered germane to the effective service delivery of respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
We enjoin all public servants to stay safe and keep adhering to all COVID-19 safety protocols in order to rid the states of the pandemic in the shortest possible time.
Now that the number of those infected by the virus is increasing by the day, the state governments should continue to strengthen the enforcement of the strict compliance to the COVID-19 protocols to check the spread of the deadly virus. They should also prosecute the defaulters in the mobile courts being set up in various wards in the states.
While we acknowledge the efforts of the Edo State Government so far in deploying 800 police constabulary personnel across the state to enforce strict compliance with the state’s regulations to check the spread of COVID-19 and prosecute the offenders, we urge other state governments to follow suit to achieve the same objective. This will go a long way in complementing the Federal Government’s efforts in greatly reducing the spread of the ravaging virus.
The Edo government had also gone to the extent of saying the defaulters found guilty and convicted by the mobile courts would be regarded as ex-convicts.
Similarly, Imo State government had said severe sanctions awaited people who failed to wear a face mask in compliance with the COVID-19 safety protocols. According to Governor Hope Uzodinma, the state already had in place a Task Force on COVID-19 and measures were being taken to reduce the spread of the disease and ensure safety of all citizens.
He said: “Few days ago I issued an Executive Order to make not wearing mask a crime in Imo State an offence. So, any moment from now, we will begin to arrest people refusing to wear mask, I have given a 14-day ultimatum for all coming into Imo State to wear their face mask and comply with NCDC protocol or be arrested and tried. I have created six mobile courts to handle that. We don’t joke. It is better we offend people than to allow this disease to continue to spread in Imo State.
All these measures are worthy of emulation by other state governments and the punishment would serve as a deterrent to others so as to ensure a halt to the spread of the virus. We recommend strongly that very strict adherence to Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions should be enforced by the states to avoid the escalation of cases.
Bearing in mind that some Nigerians were becoming very stubborn to comply with non-pharmaceutical protocols thus, the need to introduce sanctions is inevitable
We welcome the recent directive of the PTF on COVID-19 to the NCDC to carry out 450 COVID-19 tests in each local government area of the country’s 774 councils. The exercise which would start with the states that were in the forefront of resourcing and infrastructure would, no doubt, curb the spread of the pandemic at the grassroots.
We need to prepare more grounds; build more isolation centres, get more medications, get oxygen and also try to have respiratory support equipment for those who have difficulty in breathing after they have been infected.
Also, considering the fact that the new COVID-19 strain called B117 has been recorded in Nigeria and is said to be deadlier than the original strain, Nigerians should be extra-careful by taking responsibility and staying safe. According to the PTF, four persons have been diagnosed in Nigeria of this new UK variant- BII7.
Against this new development, parents, grandparents, everyone with underlying factors and particularly school proprietors must take precautionary measures at home and in the schools when managing pupils and students. The PTF is urged to continue to dialogue with the governors and the Federal Ministry of Education to closely monitor the situation.
Government must ensure availability of medical oxygen so that the management of cases will continue to improve, while it should continue to fast-track the rehabilitation of existing plants and construction of new ones approved by the President.
Since the Federal Government has said the COVID-19 vaccine would be available Nigeria by Februay, we advise Nigerians not to patronize any one hawking or marketing vaccines without the approval of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
They are reminded that the only source of vaccines that are safe and effective in Nigeria is through the channels of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), which had told Nigerians that 100,000 doses would be received.
This advice becomes necessary considering the fact that recently NAFDAC Director General, Professor Mojisoluwa Akinfenwa, had warned that the agency has not approved any vaccine for Coronavirus contrary to claims in some quarters.
When the vaccines arrive, the Federal Government must ensure that the cold chain mechanisms required are available wherever they would be distributed across the country before administering them on the people.
It should be noted that the battle against COVID-19 involves all of us taking responsibility for our actions. We have all it takes to win this fight by strictly adhering to best practices by wearing facemask consistently and properly; avoiding closed spaces, crowded places, close contacts and ensuring we protect our parents, grandparents and very senior citizens who are more likely to die if they contract virus.
