Coronavirus pandemic: Can Nigeria’s 11 lucky states’ stay lucky?

 

Nearly two months and 873 cases after Nigeria confirmed its first COVID-19 pandemic infection on February 27, 11 states are yet to record a single case,
• Cross River
• Bayelsa
• Ebonyi
• Imo
• Kebbi
• Kogi
• Nasarawa
• Plateau
• Taraba
• Yobe
• Zamfara

SOME residents of the Cross River State capital, Calabar, sometimes flout the compulsory face mask policy of the Cross River State government.

The lawyer takes the threat of a COVID-19 pandemic seriously, whether there are security officials around to enforce the rule or not.
“I go nowhere without my face mask and I ensure my family does the same,” Mgbe told The Nation.
Governor Ben Ayade imposed the “No face mask, no movement” policy on April 3, following Coronavirus infections in neighbouring Akwa Ibom State, which has now recorded nine cases.
The state’s eastern neighbour, Republic of Cameroon, recorded its first Coronavirus case 29 days earlier and now has 1,334 cases as of April 24.
Its northern neighbour, Benue State, has one case.
Twenty days after its compulsory mask policy, Cross River is still Coronavirus free.
Cross River is not alone. 10 other states have yet to confirm any case of the virus.
They are Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Imo, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.
The other 25 states have each reported at least one confirmed case.
According to data released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), there were 873 confirmed Coronavirus cases in Nigeria as of April 22. 649 of them were active, 197 had recovered while 28 were fatalities.
Lagos remains the epicentre with 430 confirmed cases followed by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with 118 cases and Kano reporting 73 cases.

How 11 states are fending off Coronavirus pandemic

The virus-free states have largely implemented measures similar to the ones in states battling the virus.
But Kogi’s case stands out. It is the only state which shares a boundary with 10 other states.
States adjacent to Kogi include Nasarawa State – to the northeast Benue State – to the east, Enugu State – to the southeast and Anambra State – to the south. It also shares a boundary with the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria) – to the north,
Others are Edo State – to the southwest, Ondo State – to the west, Ekiti State – to the west, Kwara State – to the west and Niger State – to the north.
Of all its neighbours, only Nasarawa was yet to record a case.
Nigeria’s two major rivers – River Niger and River Benue – which is a transport waterway through several other states, also meet in Kogi State. Yet, the state has, somehow, kept free of the virus.
The state has no Coronavirus test centre and is yet to test anyone for Coronavirus as at last Sunday.
Speaking in a Channels TV interview last Sunday, Governor Yahaya Bello said: “So far, so good, we have launched an app, and if nobody shows any sign or symptoms, we will not go out and catch anyone because we want to test anybody.
“We do not have any testing centre in Kogi but it is in  Federal Capital Territory and we have test kits in case there is any need to collect samples.
“But if no one comes out with any issue or reported case, what are we going to collect to send to any of the testing centres?
“I think our sensitisation programme is working excellently well, and our people are following our instruction.”
Kogi, like Cross River, is also yet to order a total lockdown, despite neighbouring states recording so many cases of Coronavirus  pandemic.
But Bello explained: “FCT is not the only state close to us. We have ten borders, and we have technically shut down and enlightened our people. By technically shutting down, we are not locked

There is no uniform opinion as to whether face masks can protect against the coronavirus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that, provided you are healthy, you do not need to wear a mask. People should, however, wear masks if they are caring for someone infected with the new coronavirus, or if they are unwell and coughing or sneezing.
Several Asian countries, including China, Hong Kong and Singapore, advocate the use of surgical masks by those who have symptoms.
But the United Kingdom and Germany, direct those with Coronavirus symptoms, to firstly self-isolate at home and thus, have little need to wear a mask other than to protect others.
The United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also does not specifically advocate the use of surgical masks. But it does advise the use of “simple cloth face coverings” made from common household materials to slow the spread of the virus and prevent people who may have the virus and do not know it – known as “asymptomatic shedders” – from transmitting it to others.
Face masks are also not compulsory in Nigeria, although it is generally used by government officials, especially at official functions.
That didn’t stop Governor Ayade, who has a PhD in Environmental Microbiology, from enforcing its use in his state.
Ayade’s academic qualifications seem to be to the state’s advantage because findings suggest that an infected person wearing a face mask is less likely to infect someone else.
Where both infected and non-infected persons interact while wearing face masks, the chances of infection is only 1.5 per cent.

Can inter-state travel ban help states remain infection-free?

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on Wednesday settled on a ban on inter-state movement for two weeks as part of efforts to control the spread of Coronavirus .
This might just be the key to helping Coronavirus -free states stay lucky.
Several states, including Rivers, Edo, Delta and Osun recorded cases of the virus from infected persons who came in after defying lockdowns in Lagos and elsewhere.
Ekiti State governor and NGF Chairman Kayode Fayemi said the ban on interstate movement had been necessitated by the increasing evidence of community transmission of the virus.
“Following an update from the NGF Secretariat on the number of Coronavirus cases in the country, members expressed serious concern over the rising spread of the virus among health workers,” read a communique issued at the end of the meeting,” the communique issued at the end of the meeting read.
“The governors resolved to work with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to ensure that health workers are adequately provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) and are constantly trained on the use of protective gears.
“In order to strengthen coordinated implementation of necessary public health recommendations across states, Governors resolved to set up Coronavirus Committees at the regional level, headed by their State Commissioners of Health.
“Regional Committees will continue to interface with the State Task Force Committees on Coronavirus already established in each state.
“The Forum also received a briefing from the Governors of Lagos, Bauchi, Oyo and Ogun states who shared their experiences and lessons from the fight against Coronaviru.
“Governors unanimously agreed to the implementation of an inter-state lockdown in the country over the next two weeks to mitigate the spread of the virus from State to State. Only essential services will be permitted.”
Will these measures help infection-free states maintain their status? Only time will tell.