The world is in a state of global emergency with the presence of a pandemic virus ravaging the world and Nigeria is in no way left out of this even as there are presently 12 confirmed cases of Corona Virus in Lagos State.
Without gainsaying, there is a palpating frenzy in the country that can do little or no help at all. In times like this, how best do you deal with the situation and stay safe? The fact is that humanity has survived far worse.
We have had HIV/AIDS (which, for many years, had a 100 percent fatality rate, 95-99 percentage points higher than the coronavirus), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and Influenza A virus subtype H1N1. Even traffic accidents, which kill about 1.25 million people every year yet seem to have little impact on people’s behaviours. Meanwhile, the fear of Corona Virus has caused behavioural impact that has majorly resulted to panic buying of hand sanitisers and toilet papers.
While it is being argued that Nigeria is not prepared to mitigate against Corona Virus in the Nigerian society, it is important to note that the extent of a nation’s preparedness for health emergency depends on her capacity to:
- Prevent, detect, respond and care for patients.
- Have action plans, staff and budgets in place for prompt response.
- It also requires having access to laboratories to test for infectious disease and real-time monitoring and reporting of infectious clusters as they occur.
- The ability to communicate and implement emergency response plans is also essential,
- Availability, quality and accessibility of hospitals, clinics, care facilities and essential equipment.
However, as citizens the best way to deal with the current global health emergency is to pay attention to the precautionary measures of not contacting the virus and not giving in to panic. Calmly follow through with the precautionary measure shared in the poster above. Fear not. Stay safe, stay healthy. HEI loves you.
