Since the outbreak of the #End- SARS protests in Lagos on October 6, 2020, and its spread across many states of the federation thereafter, not a few concerned Nigerians have shuddered at the wanton abandonment and violation of the Covid-19 guidelines and protocols by the protesters, young and old alike.
They feared a new wave of the pandemic was imminent in Nigeria, as could happen in 200 other countries worldwide, given that a new strand of the coronavirus which could be airborne for hours had emerged.
The first case of COVID-19 was reported on December 31, 2019, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. As of October 22, 2020, there were 41,104,946 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection globally. At least 1,128,325 persons have died.
These disclosures have brought to the fore the fear that the staggering cases Nigeria has had so far could increase in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests. As of October 21, a total of 595,283 tests have been carried out nationwide; 61,667 cases were confirmed while 56,880 cases had been discharged. One thousand, one hundred and twenty-five (1,125) deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
The National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, reported that 37 new cases were reported from eight states and the FCT on October 20. A breakdown showed that FCT had eight cases (8), Lagos, seven (7), Taraba, five (5), Rivers, five (5), Adamawa, four (4) Kaduna, three (3), Anambra, two (2), Osun, two (2) and Ogun, one (1).
Further analysis has shown that the states where the #EndSARS protest was prevalent were among those with the highest confirmed cases in the country.
They are Lagos, 20,733, FCT, 5,943, Plateau, 3,587, Oyo, 3,421, Rivers, 2,742, Edo, 2,648, Kaduna, 2,572, Ogun, 1,987, Delta, 1,812, Kano, 1,741, Ondo, 1,659, Enugu, 1,314, Kwara, 1,050, Ebonyi, 1,049, Osun, 918, Katsina, 904, Abia, 898, Gombe, 883, Borno, 745 and Bauchi, 710.
Others are Imo, 607, Benue, 484, Nasarawa, 478, Bayelsa, 403, Ekiti, 329, Jigawa, 325, Akwa Ibom, 295, Anambra, 277, Niger, 274, Adamawa, 248, Sokoto, 162, Taraba, 117, Kebbi, 93, Cross River, 87, Zamfara, 79, Yobe, 79 and Kogi, five. Since March, the federal and state governments have taken steps to contain the spread of the pandemic.
We recall that President Muhammadu Buhari directed the first phase of lockdown with a two-week cessation of movements in Lagos and the FCT on March 30, 2020, and a curfew between 8 pm and 6 am. The lockdowns were extended several times including total ban on interstate movements nationwide.
On June 29, 2020, the government extended the second phase of the eased lockdown by four weeks.
It, however, approved interstate movement outside curfew hours on July 1, 2020. Again, on July 27, 2020, the federal government extended the second phase of eased lockdown by an additional one week and by another four weeks on August 6.
By September 19, most states the lockdown.
For instance, the Lagos State Government announced that day that certain recreational establishments – cinemas, gyms, spas – in the city should reopen with immediate effect but that cinemas will be required to allow a maximum of 33 per- cent of their official capacities.
Two weeks earlier, on September 5, local and international flight operations had resumed following approval by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA.
Consequently, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos resumed international flights.
It was, however, against a backdrop of prolonged, unprotected protests by Nigerian youths that the Federal Government warned last week that it expected an increase in Covid-19 cases in the next two weeks.
Boss Mustapha, Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19 who doubles as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), at the national briefing of the task force in Abuja expressed concern that notwithstanding the appreciable success recorded so far in the fight against the dreaded disease, the protests could spark a second wave of the virus.
He said: “I can say it authoritatively that with the ongoing protest across the country, in the next two weeks the cases of COVID-19 would have increased. Each and everyone that attended the protest and did not put up any form of protection is likely going to spread the virus. They will go back home and spread it.
“This is one of the reasons why we must be extremely careful when we congregate because when you gather together in such an atmosphere where people don’t wear masks or maintain the social distance you are creating a potential opportunity for carriers to spread the virus.
“So far we have done pretty well as a country but this protest is like a setback and we must avoid a situation where we will have a resurgence. Countries that thought they have overcome are dealing with the second wave. We are extremely lucky as a nation and we should be careful of any situation that can warrant the second wave.”
ThisNigeria supports steps that would be taken to check a resurgence of the virus in the near term. Given the youths’ exposure these past two weeks, we implore the government to make a recourse to some of the conditions given earlier by the World Health Organisation, WHO, to check Covid-19 resurgence especially cluster infections and that preventive measures must be put in place in workplaces, schools and other essential locations.
We note the step taken by the Federal Capital Territory Security Committee during the #EndSARS protests in Abuja for alleged violation of the COVID-19 protocols.
The FCT Administration had said that while the committee recognised the rights of citizens as regards freedom of association and movement as enshrined in the constitution, the unruly conduct of the crowd and manner of demonstrations were in complete violation of the COVID-19 safety protocols which were put in place to safeguard the lives of citizens.
Consequently, the committee banned all street demonstrations, protests and processions within the FCT.
As Nigerians settle down after the protests, the best the NCDC should do is to intensify efforts at tracking and testing more citizens who might have been exposed to the virus during the crisis.
