As Nigeria continues to battle against coronavirus, a new concern rises on the horizon: the announced arrival on Wednesday of a contingent of medics from China.
The intention is that Chinese healthworkers helped China move from being the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak and step into recovery.
For the first time since December when the outbreak started, residents of the city of Wuhan, where the outbreak started, are stepping out of lockdown, businesses are opening up and hope is rising.
But questions and allegations have dogged the outbreak that started in China: the country’s penchant for wild game like pangolin that’s linked to residents eating just about anything; outright accusations that the country had an active knowledge about the outbreak; the conspiracy-theory linkage to United States; and the seemingly questionable death of a Chinese doctor who tried to warn the country about an impending outbreak.
Add to that recent social-media accusations of shipments of protective equipment thought to have traces of the virus, contaminated masks shipped from China, and a recent video that depicts masks being intentionally messed up—some read it as contaminated—by people stepping on them.
Nigerian doctors say they are “dismayed and disappointed” to hear the news of Chinese medics coming into the country.
“It is a thing of embarrassment” to doctors who have been battling to contain Covid-19, and have been treating patients who have risen to 254 so far.
The health system is fragile, and doctors feel “subjected to the ignominy of not being carried along” in the decision, the Nigerian Medical Association said.
Adequate personal protective equipment, test kits and test centres nationwide are an issue, and medics are still reeling from a lack of any form of insurance for healthworkers battling the outbreak.
“We are therefore profoundly dismayed to learn that the Federal Government is instead inviting the Chinese who from available accounts are not out of the woods themselves,” said Francis Faduyile, president of the Nigerian Medical Association.
“The spike in cases and the death toll from COVID -19 in Italy coincided with the arrival of the Chinese in the guise of offering assistance. Even the United Nations has only just recently commended the efforts of Nigeria so far.”
Journalists have also weighed in with alarm, warning it would be “counterproductive”.
“While some have applauded the way and manner China contained the virus in Wuhan – the only Chinese city to be so affected, we hasten to note that there is more to this charade than is being let out by the Chinese authorities, and we reject a situation where Nigeria will be used as a Guinea pig for any experiment,” the Nigerian Union of Journalists said.
“It is pertinent to plead with the Federal Government to stop this Medical team from coming to Nigeria because of the Italian example where there was an inexplicable spike in Covid 19 related deaths when the Chinese doctors arrived the country,” said the union’s president Chris Isiguzo.
The government is having none of it.
Last week, health minister Osagie Ehanire, who announced the Chinese were coming, met House of Representatives speaker to explain why.
Even China’s ambassador to Nigeria Zhou Pingjian published a stirring article on how China beat coronavirus, by applying the principle of CHINA--curbing transmission, highest priority, international cooperation, nationwide efforts, all-society mobilisation.
Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila later said the minister informed him the Chinese doctors were coming for specific training and upgrading of molecular laboratories.
The Ministers of Health informed me that the Chinese Doctors are here for specific training and upgrading of molecular laboratories, explains House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila about the import of Chinese doctors to tackle coronavirus pic.twitter.com/Ddni5pkOpX
— Daily Trust (@daily_trust) April 6, 2020
Molecular laboratories are the kind the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control maintains at Gaduwa—a national reference lab which tests for pathogens responsible for the infectious diseases Nigeria battles every year, from Lassa fever and meningitis to cholera and monkey pox. And now, coronavirus disease.
John Oko was outraged at the explanation from the health ministry.
“Are they medical doctors or laboratory technologists. Medical doctors do not have the skill set to upgrade laboratories. Oga, Nigerians are smart—level with us. If the Chinese doctors are not lab technologists, and they won’t be attending to patients, what’s their mission?” he wrote on Twitter.
It is one of the social media platforms that’s become the only means of communication for millions of Nigerians trapped in lockdown for nearly two weeks now and only turning to the virtual world for connectivity.
Popoola Adebola doesn’t see the presence of Chinese doctors working. “No Covid-19 patient will allow a Chinese doctor to move near them. Let’s not embark on fruitless journey. Ko le work !!!”
“The mistake and damages have already been done,” said Usman Halilu Kura in a post on Facebook in response to the story. “L
Authorities have assured the Chinese on arrival will go into quarantine. If that happens on April 8, Nigerians will expect to see them active from April 22.
*This story has been updated with a response from CCECC, the company facilitating the shipment of Chinese medics and supplies to help fight Covid-19
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