Danger looms as Lagosians ignore COVID-19 safety protocols

If the fear expressed by government and experts of a second wave of COVID-19 infection is anything to go by, then Lagos State might be heading for another round of lockdown as majority of residents no longer adhere to safety protocols. Daily Trust on Sunday takes a look at how people are going about their day-to-day affairs without recourse to safety protocols.

Few months after coming out of COVID-19 lockdown, Lagosians seem to have relaxed and forgotten so soon how they fared under the restrictions occasioned by the pandemic and how the economy was badly injured, so much that many are still struggling to recover.

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Virtually all the safety protocols rolled out by the federal and state governments, prior to the gradual and eventual ease of lockdown, have been thrown to the wind.

The Lagos State Government had warned that continuous flagrant disregard of safety guidelines by citizens portends danger and might lead to a second wave of new infections in the state.

Lagos accounts for 23,083 of the total 66,974 confirmed cases in Nigeria, representing 34.4 percent of the total cases in the country, according to available information on the website of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC. The state has also recorded 220 deaths, the highest COVID-19 related deaths in Nigeria.

NCDC also indicated that there are 955 cases on admission in Lagos, which is also the highest in the country and significantly higher than the 767 cases in the 19 states of Northern Nigeria. However, the state has successfully discharged 21,908 cases after treatment.

In recent days, the state has witnessed resurgence in the number of confirmed cases.

Prof. Akin Abayomi, the state commissioner for Health, said that resurgence of cases in Lagos might lead to reversal of strategical measures put in place by the state government to open up the economy.

Abayomi also warned that continuous flagrant disregard of safety guidelines by citizens portends danger and might lead to a second wave of new infections in Lagos.

He, however, advised residents to strictly adhere to precautionary measures against COVID-19 infection to prevent a recurrence of the lockdown of the economy.

In spite of the warning, residents have continued to flaunt the safety guidelines, which include wearing of face masks, washing and sanitizing of hands and observing social distancing among others. Interaction with residents have shown that reasons for flaunting these guidelines differ from person to person.

To some, COVID-19 never existed but a hype created by government in order to siphon money; to another set, it once existed but now gone while some others are just carefree and believe that COVID-19 is not a death sentence and as such, they can recover even if they contract it.

Our reporters observed that many residents no longer wear face mask in public places, neither are there provision for hand washing and sanitizer in public places like market and motor parks among others.

In fact, the few people who still wear face mask or shield are considered as being overzealous while majority of this set of people pull their face masks under their jaw.

Commercial buses, including the popular yellow buses (danfo), midi buses (molue) and even the Bus Rapid Transit BRT, no longer enforce the ‘mask up and sanitize’ protocol before entering. Drivers and conductors no longer mask up as they were required to do when the safety protocols were issued.

Most commercial vehicles have now gone back to operating to full capacity as they carry between 14 to 22 passengers depending on the size of the vehicle. Also, BRT buses which ordinarily are supposed to carry 44 sitting passengers per time now carry over 60 passengers, especially during rush hours in the morning and evening.

Our reporter who joined a BRT bus from Iyana Ipaja to Ikeja observed that there were over 30 passengers standing apart from the over 40 passengers who were seated. Also, less than ten people out of this number wore their face masks.

Other large carrying capacity vehicles are also characterised by overload as they carry far beyond their carrying capacity with tens of people standing and some even hanging by the door, all in a bid to get to their destinations.

All of these people converse freely with each other as some even quarrel while in the bus without covering their mouth or nose.

Many claimed that they do not wear face masks because of the discomfort it causes them.

However, our reporter observed strict enforcement of wearing of face masks at Oshodi multi-level terminal and interchange. Some passengers were denied access to the bus because they had no face masks; not even handkerchiefs were permitted as alternative. It was also observed that long queue without respect for social distancing was allowed and buses were permitted to load full capacity with some passengers standing.

A visit to some markets, including Agege market, Ile Epo, Oyingbo and Oshodi among others, showed that both traders and buyers have abandoned the safety guidelines as they are no longer considered before business transactions are carried out.

A vegetable seller at Agege market who gave her name as Mama Aisha confessed that she has not worn a face mask in the last one and half month, stressing that she has forgotten that it was to form part of her dressing at this period.

“I won’t lie to you; I feel very uncomfortable wearing face mask as it does not allow me breathe well. Even when I wear, I end up hanging it under my jaw because with it, customers can’t hear me well when I am communicating with them. So, I am tired of the discomfort,” she said.

Another trader at Oshodi, Mr. Ibrahim Salami, said he stopped wearing face mask because he was tired of washing every now and then. “Apart from the discomfort of wearing the mask, the trouble of washing it every time is tiring. Sometimes, due to laziness, I end up wearing one face mask for one week without washing, which in itself is not healthy. I also tried out buying the surgical face mask, which is N100 and I also discovered that it amounts to waste of resources buying and throwing a face mask on a daily basis,” he said.

A middle-aged man who keeps beard, Shedrack Monday, said he feels very uncomfortable with face mask as it makes his beard very scratchy.

“I have had series of misunderstanding with ushers in the church each time I remove my face mask during service. The truth is that I cannot stand the degree of itching anything I am wearing face mask,” he claimed.

It is however worthy of note that many residents move around with their face masks in their bags or pocket but don’t wear them until they get to places where they are denied access without the masks.

Though gaining access into malls, schools, places of worship, corporate organizations and government parastatals, to a large extent, still remains strictly based on adherence to COVID-19 safety guidelines, but many are quick to drop down their masks the moment they are allowed access to their destinations. There is also no longer strict enforcement of the social distancing protocol in most of the places mentioned.

In many schools also, temperatures are checked right from the gate, face mask must be worn while hand washing is also mandated but a close monitoring of classroom activities showed that both teachers and students don’t wear face mask when teaching and learning is taking place, although social distancing is put into consideration in the sitting arrangement in most schools.

Similarly, in the area of social gatherings, Lagosians have resumed large gatherings like wedding parties, funerals and birthdays among others without necessarily adhering to the safety protocols. Clubs, bars and event centres have resumed holding parties, with many billboards, flyers and posters announcing big gathering events in December already in circulation.

Possible resurgence

The Director General of Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Professor Babatunde Salako, also recently confirmed that there has been recent increase in the number of positive cases of COVID-19 infection at the institute’s testing centre and laboratory.

He maintained that Nigerians need to prepare for a second wave just as he urged religious centres to dedicate the last part of their sermons to COVID-19 prevention and use of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs), emphasizing that COVID-19 is real.

The health commissioner, Professor Abayomi, informed Lagosians that many countries and cities are experiencing a second and third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a resultant spike in the number of cases and fatalities.

The commissioner said many of the affected countries around the world have found it necessary to impose a second lockdown and restriction of movements, which have significant socioeconomic and security consequences.

He said, “The erroneous belief that COVID-19 has been conquered and is no more in Nigeria should be discarded. Based on our data, this assumption is invalid as it creates a false sense of security among the citizens, causing many to abandon the use of face masks and other safety measures and protocols.”

A Nigerian based in Canada, Adesewa Badmus, said “Seriously, people in Nigeria think COVID has gone, so they party and mix freely without precautions. Here in Canada, we are going through the second phase of lockdown despite adhering to all precautions because the cases keep rising.”

Also, a healthcare management expert, Dr Moyo Awoyokun, noted that many people are not adhering to the guidelines of COVID prevention such as using hand sanitizers, wearing face masks and physical distancing. This, he emphasized, is a dangerous trend. He said people wear face masks to malls to gain entrance into the mall and while they are in there, they take it off. In most public places, it is not being adhered to anymore.

“I enjoin Nigerians to continue wearing the face mask, wash hands, use hand sanitizers and observe social distancing. We need to continue doing this until the World Health Organization (WHO) declares we are safe from the pandemic and then we can go back to our regular lives. For now, we all should be personally responsible to curb the spread of COVID-19. Corporate organizations, malls, schools should enforce the guidelines so they will not be the centres for the spread of COVID-19 infection.”

Professor Akin Abayomi revealed that Lagos has conducted a total of 160,546 tests as at Wednesday since the index case was reported in the state in February.

He noted that only 10 cases are in the various isolation centres in the state while 1,041 active cases are in the communities and are being managed under the COVID-19 Lagos home-based care program.

Despite warnings and pleas from government and experts, there are fears that stringent enforcement of any law or protocol by government might not be an easy task following the recent violence that trailed the #EndSARS protests in the state.