How well are the coronavirus hotlines functioning across Nigeria?

The hotlines made available by some states for residents to call over coronavirus are functional, TheCable can report.

Nigeria currently has 35 confirmed cases across six states. The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and some states released emergency numbers for residents to call over the virus. There have been complaints by some persons that the lines are not functioning but TheCable called some of the numbers for Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti and Oyo states on Monday and most calls were answered in less than half a minute. 

The receivers were polite, patient and willing to answer questions. Some of the numbers called, were however, not picked while some were unreachable.

LAGOS (08000CORONA)

Lagos has one hotline for coronavirus, 08000CORONA. The call was  initially a voicemail, later redirected to a human representative who inquired about the personal details of the caller and how she could be of help.

HOW DO I DIAL 08000CORONA?

Wondering how to dial a number with alphabets?

First type the numbers 08000 on your dialer. Then trace each alphabet to the number it aligns with on your keyboard. The letter C appears on the number keyboard 2, O on 6, R on 7, O on 6, N on 6 and A on 2.

Hence, the Lagos hotline is 08000267662

Ekiti (09062970434, 09062970435, 09062970436)

The first hotline for Ekiti state rang out while the second was picked at the third attempt. The receiver, a lady, also inquired about the name and location of the caller, before asking if the caller needed any help. The third hotline for the state was not reachable. 

OGUN (0818 897 8393, 0818 897 8392)

TheCable tried both of the hotlines listed by the Ogun state government. While the first one rang out, the second was picked at the 20th second by a man who asked the caller to state if she wanted to report a case or had any symptoms.  The caller inquired if a pregnant woman was more susceptible to the disease and what the chances of transmitting it to a foetus were. 

He explained that if an expectant woman who has not been to a high-risk country in the last 14-days and has been observing the listed hygiene measures, she may not need to worry but if she had symptoms related to COVID-19, she should see  her gynaecologist. 

OYO (08073431342, 08023229267, 08038210122)

For Oyo state, the first hotline was picked by a seemingly impatient man who did not give the caller an opportunity to speak. He, rather, went ahead to say that the confirmed case in the state capital could not have infected anybody as he placed himself on self-isolation from the moment he arrived the state.

The second hotline was picked by a woman who also inquired how she may be of help to the caller, while offering advice on social distancing hand hygiene.

The third number for the state was not picked up.