Anxiety as COVID-19 cases rise in Lagos

Residents of Lagos State have expressed worry over the rising rate of COVID-19 cases in the country, particularly in the state.

Lagos State had, by April 19, 2020, recorded 70 new cases of COVID-19, which brought to 379 the total number of confirmed cases in the state. Ninety-eight of the cases had, however, fully recovered and been discharged from isolation, with 16 deaths recorded.

Residents of the state had expected that the number of cases would reduce drastically with the lockdown and restriction of movement. But instead, the number has been increasing.

The widespread fear among the residents now is that with the reality on ground, the lockdown order on the state may be extended again.

An accountant working with a microfinance bank in Lagos, Mr. Aderemi Isaac, who described the rising number of cases as “alarming”, said, “I have a fear over continuous lockdown. There may be loss of jobs and inability of companies to pay salaries. Also, the people, with time, will exhaust their savings as they are not working to get more money. This is disastrous.”

Isaac appealed to government at all levels to pay attention to food production while the lockdown lasts, saying food shortage was imminent should the lockdown continue.

Also, an entrepreneur, Mrs Vivian Ohi, expressed anxiety over a likely extension of the lockdown due to the rising number of cases in the state.

She feared the lockdown may give room for more insecurity as hoodlums and cultists continue to use the lockdown excuse to attack people and dispossess them of their valuables.

“There are many people who live on daily earnings but because of the lockdown, they have not been able to work to get money. Some of these people have resorted to hooliganism and stealing, which is a threat to the people,” Ohi said.

The entrepreneur blamed the failure of the state government to ensure strict compliance of the lockdown for the rising cases.

The founder of Help for School Foundation in Lagos, Mrs Olubunmi Oreaje-Ogbori, described as “overwhelming” the rising COVID-19 cases in the state. “People don’t seem to understand the gravity of the virus. When will the post-COVID-19 ever be?

“The reality on ground shows that there may be more restriction on movement. But government needs to really rise to ensure that the people are taken care of. We must not copy any country because we have our own peculiar problems, which must be addressed,” she said.

She stressed the need for government to provide the basic needs like food, water and power for people to obey the lockdown order by staying at home.

“The relief materials and cash transfer should reach the people they are intended for so that the impact can be felt,” she stressed.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has, however, described the increase in total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases as evidence of the success of the state’s evolving strategy of ramping up testing by going into local communities.

The Lagos State Incident Commander, giving an update on the coronavirus battle, recalled that the state had recently set up sample collection centres across the 20 local government areas. The goal of the expanded testing, he said, was to take testing closer to the people by making it easier for those who fall into the ‘case definition’ to have their samples collected.

“As we implement these strategies, and take testing deeper into our neighbourhoods and communities, we expect that we will see more positive cases. I must use this opportunity to commend all the teams that are carrying out this active community case search,” he said.

The governor further explained that eight out of the cases confirmed on April 19 originated from the neighbouring state.

He also disclosed that the  67 Nigerians who wanted to return to the country through the Seme Border and were quarantined at the isolation centre in Badagry upon arrival at the border two weeks ago had all tested negative to the virus and would be discharged from the facility.

“Conversely, we also had a second batch of 23 returnees through the Seme Border, of which two had tested positive and had been moved to an isolation centre,” he noted.