The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria ramped up several responses and reactions from citizens across the country. The rapid and worrisome evolution of the disease have forced the country to shut down social spaces, ban religious activities in public places, close borders and restrict movements.
However, for some residents of Ile-Ife, Osun state, reports on the existence and spread of the disease are untrue.
The West Africa Pilot News interviewed residents across the city on Monday morning and observed that many believe the reports making rounds about the disease are simply fabricated lies.
Currently, there are 36 confirmed cases of Corona virus in Nigeria, 6 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), 25 in Lagos state, 2 in Ogun state, 1 in Oyo state, 1 in Edo, and 1 in Ekiti state.
The Beliefs
Despite recording a death case from Coronavirus, Mr Godday Nnamdi doubts that the disease is truly in Nigeria. “There is no Coronavirus, it is a lie. All these reports we are getting are just rubbish. Ridiculous rumours of the virus are flying left and right and that’s why I am saying that I don’t believe in it. I read some articles on the disease few days ago, the signs listed are often experienced. People cough and sneeze often during dry seasons,’’ he said.
Following the outbreak of the disease, precautionary actions to prevent the spread of the disease in Nigeria became necessary.
On March 20, Osun banned public gatherings that would bring more than 50 people together in the same place including churches mosques and schools.
Although this measure was taken to help contain and control the spread of the disease, Mrs. Juliana, another resident is unpleased with the restrictions.
“Why ban church services because of one rubbish disease? Putting our church services on hold will only make things worse. We need God to save us from this disease and that’s even if this disease is real. This is just a decoy by the current administration to hold back Christians. All they want is to eliminate Christianity in Nigeria. The stories about the virus in Nigeria are false,” she stated angrily.
“I don’t know so much about this disease but I don’t believe Coronavirus is in Nigeria. How did they identify the disease? The symptoms are not new or strange. People sneeze often. Even If the disease is true, it can’t get to Ile-Ife anyways,” She added
While some residents are of the opinion that the disease is nonexistent, others believe the spread of the disease is been exaggerated to stir up panic among people.
“Romours have it that the virus is close by but this is not true,” Godday Seun said.
“The disease won’t spread as they claim. The government should have closed the border much earlier if they were really interested in containing the disease. Rather, they kept letting foreigners in despite the outbreak. We shut the border against rice wouldn’t and do the same to save lives.
Lagos is a very populated state so if this is true, we should have more cases recorded by now,” he stated further.
Alcohol Replaces Hand Sanitizer and Face Mask
Sequel to the outbreak of Covid-19 Virus, experts have recommended the use of hand Sanitizers, face masks, and other protective apparels.
Alcohol-based hand sanitisers can protect against the disease especially in situations when soap and water are unavailable.
However, some residents of Ile-Ife have taken the consumption of Alcohol to be another effective way of preventing the disease.
For Ojo, drinking and applying alcohol on the body reduces the risks of getting the disease.
“I drank dry gin and then poured the remnant on head and palm after meeting a Chinese man today.
Dry gin will sanitize your hand better than any of those white man’s recommendations. Drinking it also makes you more secure and immune to the virus.
For a country with bad healthcare system, taking preventive measures should have been our only option,” Ojo told The West African Pilot News.
Coronavirus in Nigeria
Nigeria recorded its first death case from Corona Virus on Monday.
The country’s Centre for Disease Control disclosed this shortly after the country confirmed five new cases of Covid-19.
The agency on its Twitter handle@NCDCgov said that the first Covid-19 death was recorded of a 67-year-old male who returned home following medical treatment in the UK.
The tweet reads, “The 1st #COVID19 death in Nigeria has been recorded. The case was a 67-year-old male who returned home following medical treatment in UK. “He had underlying medical conditions- multiple myeloma and diabetes and was undergoing chemotherapy. Our thoughts are with his family,
Nigeria has a total of 36 confirmed cases, 32 active cases, two discharged and one death.
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