COVID-19 second wave: Is another lockdown imminent?

BY ALAO ABIODUN

The pronouncement of COVID-19 as a public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO), necessitated countries across the globe to implement proactive response and mitigation measures to curb the deadly infection which has claimed many lives.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries enforced lockdowns and social distancing measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus. As case numbers waned and the lockdowns lifted, many people believed that the worst had passed and began meeting others socially again. Unfortunately, these attempts to enjoy what remained has now brought up negative consequences of the second wave.

Countries across Europe are seeing resurgence in COVID-19 cases after successfully slowing outbreaks early in the year, declaring more cases each day now than they were during the first wave earlier in the pandemic.

As rightly observed, the new wave of cases can be attributed to people not fully respecting the virulence of the virus and ignoring the necessity of social distancing and other COVID-19 guidelines, protocols.

This second wave of the pandemic constitutes an imminent threat to the society, with a potentially immense toll in terms of human lives and a devastating economic impact just like it was witnessed during the early virus spread.

Nigeria’s Health Minister, Osagie Ehanire last week said the country may be on the verge of a second wave of COVID-19 infections amid rising number of confirmed cases. Nigeria recorded over 3,800 fresh COVID-19 cases last week, the highest in over four months. The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was among the over 3,800 persons who tested positive last week while the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has gone into isolation after some of his close relatives and government officials contracted the virus.

Earlier in November, the World Health Organisation warned countries to prepare towards a second wave of infections. While Lagos remains epicenter, the continuous flagrant disregard of COVID-19 protocols and safety guidelines by citizens is quite alarming and disturbing especially at work places, schools, religious centers, bus parks amongst others.

Recall that the Nigerian government implemented restrictions on gatherings involving up to 11 people after three weeks following the detection of the index case of COVID-19. The lack of enforcement and supervision of gatherings and public events made many individuals disregard the restriction measures.

Lockdowns on religious gatherings and public events have been eased nationwide, and regulatory measures have been put in place. The Nigerian government implemented bans on international travel from all countries, especially high-risk countries. However, the existence of porous borders limited success, which could have been obtained from the travel ban.

As reports of COVID-19’s second wave dominate news headlines, the urgency for a reactivated and coordinated national response across states is very much important. Health stakeholders should help with stepping up testing capacity, to help identify positive cases for isolation or treatment and protect the rest of the population.

While the government has ordered the reopening of all isolation and treatment centres in the country, there is a need for the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 to re-evaluate, re-strategize, and re-invigorate their COVID-19 response activities across the states to ensure they are prepared to handle an inevitable second, and potentially third wave of cases.

Also, at this critical juncture, Nigerians must remember that this virus is real, many have died. It is not a disease of the elite. They must abide by the COVID-19 protocols, including using face masks, hand sanitisers and practising social distancing.

Two things are very much essential at this phase, continuous rapid testing. The second requirement is to apply the process of contact tracing in such a way that it generates better, more accurate social awareness of the contexts in which the disease is spreading, to ensure that control measures are targeted and proportionate to the infection risks involved.

Undoubtedly, the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic put additional strain on the vulnerable communities. mass lockdowns weigh most heavily on the poor, who are often part of the informal economy and thus dependent on face-to-face contact. For many of them, a day without work means a day without food.

When the government imposed lockdown on human activities in March, it caused adverse effect and also gave rise to criminal activities. The nature and intensity of these lockdowns varied by state and over the first three months. Many states had lockdowns for three-four days a week.

No nation is immune to disease outbreak. With increase in human mobility occasioned by excessive economic activities, diseases can be imported and exported from one country to another. There is an urgent need to improve mobile laboratory networks within the country.

In the face of continued COVID-19 community transmission, the health system may likely become overwhelmed with increased risk of health workers’ infection. Considering the fact that most people use the PHC centres, especially those in the rural and hard-to-reach areas, it is important to provide first level care such as screening and referral for us to overcome this second wave.

Abiodun is a journalist based in Lagos