Video - Easing of health protocols reversed in Nigeria

Nigeria has reversed its recent decision to ease COVID-related health protocols for travelers, and now demanding proof of vaccination from all people coming into the country. This comes barely a month after the government lifted many travel restrictions. 

CGTN

Nigeria regrets travel restrictions to curb Omicron variant, says it disrupted business

The Nigerian government said the travel restrictions enforced to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 had no health benefit.

The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Ifedayo Adetifa stated that the restrictions impacted negatively on individuals and businesses.

“Recent experience in Nigeria with the arrival of omicron showed travel restrictions did not have any public health benefits but were disruptive for persons and businesses. COVID-19 has and continues to follow a different course (epidemiology in Nigeria and most of Africa),” Adetifa tweeted.

Following a meeting of the NCDC COVID-19 National Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) held on Saturday, Adetifa said the EOC would continue to review the ongoing COVID-19 situation in the coming week.

He expressed confidence that the Nigerian population is significantly protected from a combination of natural infection and vaccination but hinted that there will be changes in government approach if the need arises.

“At the next review and if deemed necessary, a range of actions, not limited to enhanced surveillance of travellers at airports, may be implemented,” Adetifa said.

He advised Nigerians to make use of every opportunity the government has provided via to get vaccinated and urged citizens to receive their primary vaccination which can be two or a single vaccine dose.

“If you have received two vaccine doses already, go get your booster,” Adetifa said.

“If you have received one booster dose already, please go get your second booster dose. If you belong in any of the high-risk categories (old age, etc), kindly ensure you adhere to recommended public health safety measures – mask use, hand hygiene and avoiding crowded spaces.”

By Dennis Erezi, The Guardian

Related story: Video - Nigerian airlines see demand as the recovery gathers momentum

Nigeria removes COVID-19 testing for international travellers

Nigeria on Monday removed COVID-19 testing requirements for international travellers and it was no longer mandatory to wear masks on flights and inside airport buildings, the airlines regulator said.

In a notice to airlines, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority said travellers to and from Nigeria did not need to undergo COVID-19 irrespective of their vaccination status.

The authority said travellers above 60 years and those with comorbidities were encouraged to use face masks.

Nigeria has recorded 266,381 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic and 3,155 deaths. 

By MacDonald Dzirutwe, Reuters

Nigeria to produce vaccines locally with Serum Institute of India

Nigeria will partner with Serum Institute of India to start local manufacturing of vaccines used in the country's immunisation programmes, health minister Osagie Ehanire said on Wednesday.

Africa's most populous country imports all of its vaccines, including those used to prevent polio, measles and tuberculosis, but has been seeking foreign partners to produce them at home.

"We hope to start manufacturing some of the vaccines (that) Serum Institute India manufactures and transfer the technology and skills to our people," Ehanire said after Nigeria's cabinet approved the deal with Serum Institute, the world's largest producer of vaccines.

"We are talking first of all the routine vaccines, the ones (for) the standard programme on immunisation, not COVID-19 vaccine."

Ehanire said the venture between Bio Vaccine Nigeria and Serum Institute would start by producing 15% of vaccines used in local immunisation. The government owns a 49% stake in Bio Vaccine and private investors control the rest.

By Felix Onuah

Reuters

Video - Nigeria faults travel ban imposed by the UK on African countries

 

The Nigerian Government faulted the travel ban imposed by the UK on Nigeria and other African countries. Authorities say the country will not reciprocate, rather it's travel protocol has been revised as a way to manage the risk of spreading the new COVID-19 variant of concern, Omicron. Phil Ihaza reports from Abuja.

Nigeria confirms first cases of Omicron among travellers from South Africa

Nigeria confirmed its first cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant among two travellers who arrived from South Africa last week, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said on Wednesday.

The NCDC also said retrospective sequencing of previously confirmed cases among travellers to Nigeria had identified the variant among a sample collected in October. It did not give details.

"Given the highly likely increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant, it is imperative to put in place measures to curb community transmission," NCDC said in a statement.

The announcement by NCDC comes ahead of a meeting between South African President Cyril Rampahosa and his Nigerian counterpart Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja later on Wednesday, where the issue of the Omicron variant is likely to be discussed.

Several nations have imposed travel restrictions on countries in southern Africa, where the variant was first reported, which Ramaphosa says is unjustified and hurts developing nations. 

Reuters

Around 20% of Nigerian workers lost jobs due to COVID-19

Around 20% of workers in Nigeria have lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19, the government's statistics office said on Tuesday, outlining the impact of the pandemic on businesses in Africa's most populous nation.

The National Bureau of Statistics and the United Nations Development Programme surveyed nearly 3,000 businesses in the formal and informal sectors in Nigeria.

In March, the NBS said a third of Nigeria's workers were out of a job in the fourth quarter of 2020, a situation worsened by the pandemic.

"While there have been promising signs of recovery this year, COVID-19 has had an outsized socio-economic impact on Nigeria," the duo said in a statement.

Businesses complained about revenue declines, higher costs and an inadequate safety net for those in the informal sector, they said, adding that the disruption could leave a lasting impact on enterprises. Only a few in the utilities, financial and health sectors reported gains from the previous year.

The West African nation's economy, the biggest on the continent, was hammered by the fall in oil prices following disruptions caused by the pandemic. The country relies on crude exports for around 70% of government revenues.

Growth in Nigeria has resumed after COVID-19 triggered a recession but it lags the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, with food inflation, heightened insecurity and stalled reforms slowing the economy and increasing poverty, the World Bank has said.

The bank has said that the COVID-induced crisis was expected to push over 11 million Nigerians into poverty by 2022, taking the total number of people classified as poor in the country to over 100 million. The total population is estimated at 200 million.

By Camillus Eboh 

Reuters

Nigeria approves Sinopharm COVID vaccine, expects 7.7 mln doses

Nigeria has recently approved China's Sinopharm (1099.HK) vaccine against COVID-19, the head of the country's primary healthcare agency said on Tuesday.

Nigeria has been allocated 7.7 million doses of the vaccine through the COVAX scheme aimed at providing vaccines to developing countries.

Dr. Faisal Shuaib, head of Nigeria's National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, did not say when the Sinopharm doses would arrive or be administered.

Cases are rising in Nigeria with daily new infections increasing 10 fold from levels seen in July, according to a Reuters tally.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with some 200 million people, has vaccinated only a small fraction of them, largely due to lack of supply. So far, some 2 million people, or 1% of the population, have received one dose of vaccine while fewer than 1 million have received two.

The rollout of vaccines, which had been halted on July 9 because supplies had run out after a first phase, resumed on Aug. 16. read more

During the first phase, Nigeria used doses of AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) vaccine received through COVAX. It has since received supplies of Moderna's (MRNA.O) vaccine donated by the United States, which are being used for the second phase.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) shots purchased by Nigeria via an African Union scheme are also expected to be used.

Nigeria has recorded 187,588 cases of COVID-19 and 2,276 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to official data, although the figures could be much higher given that only 2.7 million samples have been tested. 

Reuters 

Related story: Unpaid doctors strike in Nigeria amid new COVID-19 surge

Unpaid doctors strike in Nigeria amid new COVID-19 surge

Dr. Olaniyi Olaoye and the other resident doctors at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria haven't been paid at all for five months.

Since the pandemic began, there have been many months when they've only received 60% of their salaries, bringing at least six of them to resign.

Now Olaoye and some 19,000 other doctors across Africa's most populous nation are on strike for the fourth time since the pandemic began, leaving government-run hospitals and COVID-19 treatment centers short-staffed.

The latest work stoppage comes as Nigeria confronts an avalanche of new COVID-19 cases blamed on the delta variant first detected here in early July.

Doctors who are lucky have wives who work and are depending on their income, he said. "Life is difficult for those who are not," he said.

Already Nigerian media outlets are reporting that patients — some with COVID-19 symptoms — are being turned away at short-staffed hospitals. Other patients have been discharged into the streets or left to languish in hospital beds without being diagnosed or receiving treatment.

At the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, The Associated Press witnessed two patients turned away shortly after they arrived at the emergency room last week.

“We cannot admit — resident doctors are on strike," a doctor on duty was overheard telling one of the patients. "When they call off the strike, you come back.”

Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, president of the National Association of Resident Doctors, said the federal health ministry has sent him a letter warning that the country's 19,000 medical residents don't have the right to strike.

“Imagine a doctor not paid for 16 months in some states,” Okhuaihesuyi told The Associated Press. "How does he even provide food for his family?”

Nigerian Health Minister Dr. Osagie Ehanire and the Federal Ministry of Health both declined to comment and said a briefing would be held at a later date.

The strike is the fourth work stoppage by medical residents since the pandemic began, the longest of which lasted 10 days.

While the current work stoppage does not affect specialist doctors or nurses, medical residents make up the bulk of health care workers at government hospitals throughout Nigeria, and they also staff most of the government-run treatment facilities for COVID-19.

The striking doctors worry about their patients but place the blame on the federal government, saying it failed to honor an earlier agreement reached after the last strike in April.

“We don’t get paid enough for what we do; we have a diminished workforce, a lot of people are overworked," said Egbekun Ethel, a resident doctor at the Lagos Orthopedic hospital where patients were discharged into the streets to wait for the strike's end. “And it is not only the resident doctors who are disgruntled — the entire health sector is.”

For her, it has been a “vicious cycle" of always returning to work with “little or no rest" and a meager salary.

Some resident doctors say they have not started to receive the reviewed monthly minimum wage of N30,000 ($73) for doctors, according to the association that represents them.

Nigeria's health minister has said that he is "committed' to getting the resident doctors back to work, though he has said that most of their demands are issues to be solved by state governments, not his ministry.

Nigeria's public health sector has not been sufficiently funded for years despite the country having one of Africa's biggest economies, budget documents show.

In 2021, funding for the Federal Ministry of Health was only 4% of the entire budget, or 549.8 billion naira ($1.34 billion). An additional 70.2 billion naira ($171.6 million) was provided because of the pandemic but that allocation remains a fraction of the African Union's recommendation that governments spend an additional 15% for healthcare during the pandemic.

Critics, meanwhile, point to the vast disparity between the government hospitals treating most Nigerians and the medical care abroad that is available to the country's elite. Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has had at least 200 days of medical care in the United Kingdom since he was elected president in 2015.

“You cannot go to any hospital in the country that has all the basic infrastructure and adequate manpower to treat patients,” said Okhuaihesuyi. “That is why most people that are in government that have money do not want to receive treatment in Nigeria.”

Dr. Agwu Nnanna at the Federal Medical Center in Nigeria's Kogi state said his colleagues are trapped in “a very unfortunate situation.”

“A doctor needs to take care of himself adequately to be able to cater to his patients as well,” he said.

By Chinedu Asadu

AP

Nigeria's Lagos state faces "potential third wave" of COVID-19

Nigeria's Lagos state faces a "potential third wave" of coronovirus infections, its governor said in a statement.

He warned of fines or even imprisonment for those who break rules to contain the virus and said Lagos state would step up its vaccination campaign, following the detection of the highly infectious Delta variant in an incoming traveller.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, has not been as hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as other parts of the continent, with just over 168,000 cases and 2,124 deaths confirmed since the outbreak began.

But Nation Centre for Disease Control officials last week confirmed that they had detected the Delta variant, putting officials nationwide on alert. The NCDC did not say when the infected traveller had arrived.

"From the beginning of July, we started to experience a steep increase in the number of daily confirmed cases, with the test positivity rate going from 1.1% at the end of June 2021 to its current rate of 6.6% as at 8th of July 2021," Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said in a statement. "The rapid increase within a week gives great cause for concern."

Lagos state, home to the commercial capital, has been the epicentre of Nigeria's COVID-19 pandemic. It has confirmed 60,366 cases since the outbreak began - nearly 36% of the country's total.

There are self-isolation requirements for all incoming passengers, and arrivals from red-list countries Brazil, India, South Africa, and Turkey, must quarantine in a government facility.

But Sanwo-Olu said that 15% of Lagos state arrivals from red-list nations had absconded, while authorities could not reach 18% of other incoming passengers.
Report ad

He warned of sanctions including fines, imprisonment and deportation for rule breakers, and said Lagos state was "exploring all avenues possible" to increase vaccine access.

Just 1% of Lagos state residents have received two doses of vaccines against the novel coronavirus.

By Libby George

Reuters

Nigeria bans travellers from India, Brazil, Turkey over COVID-19 fears

Nigeria will ban travellers coming from India, Brazil and Turkey because of concerns about the rampant spread of coronavirus in those countries, a presidential committee said on Sunday.

"Non-Nigerian passport holders and non-residents who visited Brazil, India or Turkey within Fourteen (14) days preceding travel to Nigeria, shall be denied entry into Nigeria," Boss Mustapha, chairman of the presidential steering committee on COVID-19, said in a statement.

The ban will take effect from May 4, the statement said.

Nigeria announced 43 confirmed new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing its total to 165,153, with 2,063 deaths.

Indian hospitals, morgues and crematoriums have been overwhelmed as the country has reported more than 300,000 daily cases for more than 10 days straight. Many families have been left on their own to find medicines and oxygen.

In Brazil, new coronavirus cases have fallen off a late-March peak, but remain high by historical standards. Total deaths in the country are second only to the United States.

Turkey imposed a nationwide "full lockdown" on Thursday, lasting until May 17, to curb a surge in coronavirus infections and deaths, with the world's fourth highest number of cases and the worst on a per-capita basis among major nations.

Reuters

Nigeria records lowest daily COVID-19 infections in one year

Nigeria on Sunday recorded 26 new coronavirus infections, the lowest daily figure recorded since April 15, 2020, when Nigeria recorded 11 infections.

At that time, the disease had just started spreading in a few states with only about 400 infections recorded in the entire country.

Sunday also became the sixth consecutive day that Nigeria recorded no daily fatality from the virus which has caused over 3 million deaths globally and over 2,000 deaths in Nigeria in the past year.

Sunday’s tally brings the total number of infections in the West African nation to 164,233.

This is according to an update published by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Sunday night.

While some countries such as Brazil and India are witnessing a resurgence in COVID-19 infections, Nigeria has witnessed a massive reduction in new cases from an overage of over 1,000 daily cases between December 2020 and February 2021, to less than 200 in the past month.

Also, with no new deaths in the past six days, the fatality toll from COVID-19 in Nigeria remains 2,061, according to the NCDC data.

Only three deaths have been reported from the pneumonia-like disease in Nigeria in the past two weeks, an indication that Africa’s most populous nation has gone past its worst phase, although experts warn it might be too early to celebrate.

There is still low testing for the disease across Nigeria, a situation health experts believe could be masking the severity of the outbreak.
 

Specifics

The 26 new cases were reported from six states- Ebonyi (10), Lagos (9), FCT (2), Kano (2), Osun (2), and Oyo (1).

Since the pandemic broke out in Nigeria in February last year, the country has carried out over 1.8 million tests.

More than two-thirds of the over 164,000 people infected by COVID-19 in Nigeria have recovered after treatment.

According to NCDC data published Sunday night, a total of 154,332 people have recovered after treatment.

The data showed that the country’s active COVID-19 cases increased by 19, bringing the total number of people being treated for the virus to 7,840.

More than 140 million people have been infected with COVID-19 globally leading to over 3 million deaths, according to worldometer.info.
 

Vaccination

Having received 3.94 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines through the COVAX facility in early March, Nigeria commenced vaccination beginning with healthcare workers and other priority groups.

Nigeria on March 21 received another 300,000 doses of the same vaccine from telecom giant, MTN. On April 6, the government of India also delivered 100,000 doses of vaccine to Nigeria, bringing the total number of vaccines in stock to about 4.4million.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, on Friday, announced that about 1,071,346 Nigerians considered “eligible” for the first phase of the rollout have been vaccinated six weeks into the process.

Nearly 900 million vaccine doses have been administered worldwide, equaling 11 doses for every 100 people, according to latest figures from research and data provider firm, Our World in Data.

The U.S is leading in the vaccination race, having inoculated nearly 200 million of its population. It is closely followed by China with over 183 million people vaccinated in the Asian country.

Africa has the lowest vaccination rate of any continent, with many countries yet to start mass vaccination campaigns.

By Ebuka Onyeji

Premium Times

Nigeria receives 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from India

Nigeria has received 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from India, a senior official has said.

This will further boost the number of Nigerians to be vaccinated, Boss Mustapha, chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and secretary of the government of the federation, told reporters at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday.

The "Covishield" is the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.

The frontline medical personnel, strategic leadership, and those above the age of 50 years across the nation would be vaccinated first.

As of Monday, a total of 963,802 persons in Nigeria had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

"The objective is to vaccinate 70 percent of Nigeria's population between 2021 and 2022," he said.

The country has recorded a total of 163,388 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 2,058 deaths, and 153,630 have recovered as of Tuesday night, according to data from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control.

Xinhua

Nigeria develops two coronavirus vaccines

Nigerian scientists have developed two vaccines against COVID-19, the government secretary announced Tuesday.

Boss Mustapha, who is also chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, said clinical trials for the new vaccines are underway.

“The vaccines will be used after completing clinical trials and obtaining certification,” said Mustapha.

“This is a welcome development that will open a new vista in scientific breakthrough and will boost the morale and image of the medical industry in the country.”

He called on all relevant agencies to provide the required support and enabling environment for the smooth conduct of the remaining protocols for the certification of the vaccines, with a view to encouraging and motivating other researchers.

At least 162,000 virus-related cases have been observed in the country and 2,031 people have died from the virus, while over 148,500 people have recovered from the disease.

CGTN

Nigeria confirms cases of COVID-19 variant discovered in Britain while expecting vaccines

Nigeria recorded four cases of the highly contagious COVID-19 variant B117, first reported in Britain, while still expecting vaccines against the virus, the Nigerian government said on Monday.

Three cases were found in Nigerians who had traveled out of the country and one is a resident, said Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation and chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, at a daily news conference.

Mustapha said that over the last few weeks, the PTF had been closely following the rising number of infections reported daily in Nigeria while scientists were sequencing the variants of the virus.

"When they were tested, this strain was found in them within a week of returning to Nigeria. This was reported to us through the international health regulations and it is most unlikely this strain was acquired in Nigeria," said Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), while shedding more light on the new development at the same news conference on Monday.

Ihekweazu said his agency would keep intensifying genomics surveillance and sequencing in collaboration with its partners, as shutting down international travel would not achieve much so long as the virus was still ravaging in other countries.

Meanwhile, 1,430 new COVID-19 cases were reported late Monday, bringing the total number of infections in the most populous African country to 122,996, according to the NCDC.

The new infections were reported from 18 states, including Lagos, the economic hub, and Abuja, the federal capital territory.

Three additional deaths were recorded, bringing the total to 1,507 nationwide since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported in the country on Feb. 27, 2020.

Nigeria has so far tested 1,270,523 people since the onset of the pandemic, the PTF said.

"The management of cases is gradually improving with the availability of medical oxygen. The government is also fast-tracking the rehabilitation of existing plants and construction of new ones as approved by the president," Mustapha told reporters, adding there is currently a review of the guidelines on the implementation of phase three of the eased lockdown which expired on Monday.

Nigeria is expected to receive 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines early next month, with the efforts to deploy them underway, the official said.

"We wish to assure all Nigerians that the vaccines will be safe and effective when eventually it is deployed. We enjoin everyone to join in the campaign to eliminate vaccine hesitancy," he said.

Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said at the news conference on Monday the government is exploring all options to ensure the vaccination of 70 percent of the Nigerian population within two years.

"With an eye on value-for-money, we are negotiating with many parties and planning for flawless execution using recent experience from polio eradication in the face of a global scramble for vaccines," Ehanire added.

By Olatunji Saliu

XINHUANET

Video - Nigeria Plateau COVID-19 Crisis

 

The CAF Confederations Cup clash between Nigeria's River United and Bloemfontein Celtic from South Africa had to be shifted to the Republic of Benin due to COVID-19 related reasons. But as CGTN's Deji Badmus reports, the decision had serious implications for the teams.

Nigeria's exhausted medics keep waiting for COVID-19 vaccines

Dr Oluwajoba Oroge braced for the week ahead - another long line of coronavirus patients at Abuja's EHA clinic, and another long wait for news of a vaccine.

Europe has been inoculating its people since December - but African health authorities say it could still be weeks, even months, until they get their first shots.

Every day, said Dr. Oroge, cases are mounting, stocks of protective gear are dwindling and the number of his colleagues with the energy and health to keep fighting is falling.

"The cases will continue to rise if we don't have a vaccine," the 30-year-old told Reuters after seeing a patient. "That continues to mean more work stress, more mental stress, more stress on all the resources."

More than 2,600 Nigerian physicians have contracted COVID-19 and dozens of them have died, said Dr Adetunji Adenekan, chairman of the Lagos state branch of the Nigerian Medical Association. "We are depleted every day by the minute."

Nigeria's health minister Osagie Ehanire said last month he was hoping to see the fist vaccines arrive through the global COVAX scheme in January, though he gave no details on precise timing, or which shot Nigeria would get.

African states have accused richer regions of cornering most of the supplies. The head of the World Health Organization - Ethiopia's Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus - said last week the world was on the brink of "catastrophic moral failure" when it came to sharing out shots.

Daily tallies of confirmed cases hit record levels across Africa this month, and the second wave is infecting twice as many people per day as the height of last year's first, according to the African Union's Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Nigeria has reported 110,387 confirmed cases, and 1,435 deaths, though African officials have warned that low testing could mask more cases.

Privately, some doctors say they worry that when vaccines arrive in Nigeria, they will go first to the rich and powerful.

Dr Ndaeyo Iwot, acting executive secretary of primary health care in Abuja, said the government would track doses to clamp down on any corruption. "It will go through the system," he said.

(Reporting By Abraham Achirga in Abuja and Nneka Chile in Lagos; Additional reporting and writing by Libby George in Lagos; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

By Abraham Achirga and Nneka Chile 

Reuters

Related stories: Nigeria requests 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from African Union

Nigerians say no to another lockdown

Nigeria requests 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from African Union

Nigeria has written to the African Union to request 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to supplement the COVAX programme and has allocated $26 million for licensed vaccine production, the health minister said on Monday.

Nigeria, like other countries across Africa, is grappling with a second wave of the novel coronavirus. As of Monday, Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country of 200 million inhabitants, had 110,387 confirmed cases and 1,435 deaths.

The African Union has secured a provisional 270 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from manufacturers for member states, its chair South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said last week.

“Nigeria has written to express interest in 10 million doses of the viral vector vaccine, which could be supplied as from March 2021,” Health Minister Osagie Ehanire told reporters in the capital Abuja. “This vaccine does not require deep freezers.” Ehanire did not mention the name of the vaccine.

He also said the ministry of finance had released 10 billion naira ($26.27 million) to support domestic vaccine output as Nigeria was exploring options of “licensed production in collaboration with recognised institutions”. The government is already in talks with “one or two producers”, he said.

Last week the finance minister said the government was working on the type and quantity of COVID-19 vaccines to procure and would make financial provision for them.

Nigerian authorities have said the country is working with the COVAX programme backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) that aims to secure fair access to COVID-19 vaccines for poor countries, and expects to receive its first doses in late January and early February.

WHO Africa director Matshidiso Moeti last week said African countries could start to receive the first doses from COVAX by the end of March, with larger deliveries by June.

By Felix Onuah

Reuters

Related story: Nigerians say no to another lockdown

Nigerians say no to another lockdown

As nations go into another round of lockdowns in response to the second wave of coronavirus (COVID-19), Nigerians have warned government against shutting down the economy again, saying the impact of doing so will be deadlier than the effect of COIVID-19 itself.

At the height of the pandemic last year, many countries and territories around the world had enforced lockdown of varying degrees. Nigeria was not left out as it joined others to shut the economy for weeks.

No sooner had the pandemic abated and the world embraced a “new normal” than the UK discovered a new variant of the virus. It shut down London and some other places just before Christmas.

Since then, many countries have been forced to shut down in the bid to constrain the spread of the new variant, which is reported as more deadly. Among them are Germany, Greece, Ireland, Poland and Czech Republic, Italy and The Netherlands.

Just yesterday, Portugal imposed a tougher lockdown as numbers rose. The government ordered a strict nationwide lockdown, similar to one enacted almost a year ago. Citizens will only be permitted to leave their homes for shopping, work, and medical appointments, according to the regulation, which applies from today.

Is Nigeria a case for another lockdown?
AVIATION stakeholders, yesterday, kicked against another shutdown of the economy. They urged the Federal Government to, rather, give priority to on-arrival COVID-19 rapid testing for all passengers.

They advised government to take a cue from the United States, Canada and United Kingdom that had only tightened safety protocols in place of shutdown of the airspace.

Indeed, the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday issued a new order requiring proof of a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 for all air passengers arriving from a foreign country to the United States including U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens. This order will become effective on January 26, 2021.

Similarly, British Airways has adjusted its COVID-19 protocol in conformity with the United Kingdom Government’s COVD-19 new regime. Beginning from January 15, 2021, all inbound passengers travelling to England will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test result, taken up to 72 hours prior to departure.

Aviation Security consultant, Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd), expected Nigeria and her COVID-19 handlers to be strategic and innovative with control measures that are more suitable to the local experience than following international bandwagon.

Ojikutu said instead of a blanket ban on flights, the government should redistribute all the foreign airlines to four or five international airports and none of them must go to more than one of the four or five, except those from the same country like the British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

“We have about 30 foreign airlines coming to Nigeria. It, therefore, means each of the international airports would be having six foreign airline flights. The aim is to be able to effectively and efficiently test, trace and track any infected passenger. Each airport must have testing centres and adequate skilled manpower in sufficient numbers to do the testing 24 hours at the airports for the arriving Nigerian nationals.

“We do not expect many nationals of other countries to be trooping now out of their countries into ours; we can ban those except in essential government demands. My worry about possible government ban on foreign airlines is that it might lead to evacuation flights that give corrupt earnings to the foreign airlines and government officials in the embassies and the ministries but put excessive financial burdens on the Nigerian nationals who will be required to be paying thousands in dollars or thousands for a single way ticket. We need to watch out so we don’t fall into the same temptations we found ourselves during the first wave of the pandemic,” Ojikutu said.

Member of the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), Olumide Ohunayo, reckoned that the government should not ban international travellers, but to intensify COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests and compliance rate.

Ohunayo said the government had done well with adjustments of protocols for travellers coming from UK and South Africa.

“They have also told these travellers to isolate on arrival into Nigeria. My advice on this is that government should rather designate a place for this isolation so that travellers can be monitored and ensure that test results are all genuine.

“On domestic operators, I have seen that they only observe the safety protocols onboard the aircraft. They should do better and return to the initial period when there was strict adherence at all levels. These are things to do. I do not support another ban on travelling. Let us not put more pressure on businesses that are already down. Let us tighten the screw on protocols, ensure compliance and apprehend those issuing fake COVID-19 certificates,” Ohunayo said.

Travel expert, Sunday Olumegbon, reckoned that there were more avenues to prevent further spread of the virus, than placing a ban on international flights.

Olumegbon said besides the revenue that international flights bring into the country, the Nigerian government should intensify awareness and screening at international entry ports.

He said the situation in the UK once again reinforced the urgent need for coordinated recognition of systematic testing of travellers.

“Governments must cooperate to put mutually recognised testing capacity in place so that borders can remain open to the vast majority of healthy passengers. COVID-19 is likely to be with us for some time. So, rather than travel bans, governments must adopt more flexible and practical policies to manage the risks in a way that enables people to safely work and travel.

“Test, test and test again has been the mantra of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for almost a year now, and we implore governments to act on this advice. I’m surprised that our port health authorities are still following the old routine of just filling forms, telling travellers to pay and go for tests within seven days. Other countries, including Cameroun, are conducting tests at the airports and on arrival. That is the way to go,” he said.

ECONOMISTS, financial analysts and scholars also agreed yesterday that another lockdown in the face of COVID-19 second wave would hurt the economy and Nigerians.

The experts include a development economist and former consultant to United Nations Development programme (UNDP), Dr. Samson Olalere; a professor of Entrepreneurship and Management Strategy, Mrs. Olajumoke Familoni; Prof. Femi Ajayi of Agriculture and Rural Development, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and a former banker and Ibadan-based public affairs analyst, Sanjo Akanmu.

Others are Director, Centre for Economic Policy and Research, University of Lagos, Prof. Ndubuisi Nwokeoma; Professor of Economics, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Sheriffdeen Tella; founder and Managing Director, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Johnson Chukwu,
Chukwu argued that Nigeria could not afford another lockdown because of the high poverty rate in the country.

According to him, an economy where 50 per cent of the total population lives below poverty line cannot afford total lockdown for a second time. Instead of lockdown, he advised government to “close down super-spread places like night clubs, social functions and impose curfew to ensure that people do not go to social events at night.” Nwokeoma,
observed that many countries had been reluctant to declare another lockdown because of the devastating effects of the first experience. He feared that if the world should experience another one, oil prices would crash.

“Under such a circumstance, Nigeria’s economy will suffer more devastation,” he warned. Tella said Nigeria should not consider another total lockdown to avoid loss of jobs, income and government revenue.

“No. We cannot afford another complete lockdown to avoid loss of jobs, income and revenue to government. Short, partial and intermittent lockdown may be introduced if the present situation worsens.

“The country can quickly prevent inflow of people to minimise imported transmission and avoid lockdown. We can’t afford it or it will worsen the current recession.”

Olalere hinged his opposition to lockdown on the argument that the economy could not sustain another lockdown because of the feeble state of the productive sector coupled with poor infrastructure, road networks, and management of the economy.

“Nothing seems to be working. Any lockdown will definitely spur the people to revolt, which the government will not be able to curb,” he said.
Similarly, Familoni said another lockdown would be hard for citizens to bear.

“I hear 75 per cent of Nigerians are on daily income so lockdown will be hard to bear but some ingenuity on how to reduce contact and still have means of livelihood will be good.”

Ajayi and Akanmu argue that in place of lockdown, government should emphasize use of nose mask, keeping social distancing, washing of hands and use of sanitizer,

“If these are not enforced and the country is locked down, the real objective of lockdown, which is to prevent spread of COVID-19 pandemic and the new strain will not be achieved and citizens will only be subjected to economic and related hardship,” Ajayi said.

Akanmu, said: “Instead of lockdown, I think govt should intensify awareness and sensitisation on the need for people to adhere strictly to all covid protocols with a view at reducing the spread and containment of the deadly disease.”

Other authorities that expressed the same view were a development economist, Dr. Chiwuike Uba; an Economic analyst in Rivers State, Mr. Ignatius Chukwu and a professor of Economics at Bayero University, Kano, Murtala Sagagi.

Uba said yesterday, it would be socially and economically suicidal if another lockdown happened in the country. He pointed out that with the economy in recession and other economic indices not looking very good amidst rising inflation, high poverty rate, debt and inflation imposing a lockdown would amount to dealing a final blow on the country and the people.

He said: “The global lockdown driven by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic may likely lead to a glut in oil demands. Most of the manufacturing companies that closed shop during the last lockdown are just resuming operations. Therefore, it would be counterproductive to toe that path for the second time in a country with an ineffective and inefficient manufacturing industry, faced with a very harsh business environment.

“The exchange rate volatility occasioned by multiple exchange rates, low oil prices and output, weak export profile, and domestic revenue mobilization would continue as long as domestic production remains low. And the situation would be made worse by another lockdown. Is the Nigerian economy resilient enough to deal with the social costs (restiveness, high insecurity, demonstrations, deaths, vandalism, etc.) of another lockdown? I don’t think so.

“Nigerians are already groaning under the heavy electricity tariff and fuel pump price, higher food prices, hunger, poverty, high unemployment rate, and high out-of-pocket health care expenditures. Any lockdown (whether full or partial) has the capacity to stifle growth in the economy. For now, I am refraining from discussing Nigeria’s development because we are not ready to take bold decisions on the future. All we need now is aggressive sensitization and advocacy. Unfortunately, the National Orientation Agency (NOA), which is saddled with this responsibility is almost comatose or does not understand its mandate.”

Chukwu warned that Nigeria is not in a shape to face another extreme lockdown. He contended that since the economy is mostly propelled by the informal sector where most citizens don’t have regular income, a lockdown on the fragile economy would spell doom.

He suggested strict implementation of COVID-19 protocols in place of lockdown. Sagagi observed the increasing rate of poverty in Nigeria might be escalated if the Federal Government imposed lockdown.

“Lockdown of the economy this time is not the best solution. As at yesterday, we recorded only 1, 270 confirmed cases, the confirmed cases are just little above 100,000 and the death is just 1,300 and discharged cases over 80,000. When you look at these figures, you will notice that Nigeria is actually facing pandemic but not as other countries, especially in Europe and Asia.

“So, there is every tendency that, because of our young population, the rate and intensity of the virus may not be as pronounced as being advertised, though I am not blaming government for reeling out the warning but the way it is being projected like in United States, UK, I think the dynamic is more different in Africa.

“This is the reason I don’t think Nigerians can withstand another lockdown especially when about 60 per cent of our population lives below poverty line already. When you look at the World Bank projection that says about 2 million Nigerians will further drop below the poverty line in 2021, that is even when the country’s economy is battling with recession, it is delicate to call for another lockdown”

He suggested sustained public sensitisation and education about the preventive and protective measures, which he believed needed to be intensified for people to take precautionary measures seriously.

HEALTH experts, Dr. Chioma Nwakanma and Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor also kicked against lockdown, partial or total, adding that Nigeria should have taken time to create structures that would support its economy, having learnt lesson from the first lockdown.

Nwakanma said rather than copying what other countries do, government should devote time to creating awareness and reviving the confidence of the people in government to tackle the second wave of the pandemic.

“Lockdown is important but I don’t think it is the way to go for Nigeria as a country right now. With the protocols the government has put in place, all that needs to be done is to maintain and enforce the protocols,” she said.

She said having multiple lockdowns would cripple the economy totally, noting that Nigeria should learn from other countries, whose sole aim of enforcing lockdown is to increase contact tracing, testing capacity, have virtual meetings and ensure how every sector can work effectively during this pandemic, which is what Nigeria should have achieved with the first lockdown.

“The only reason lockdowns are enforced is to be able to create measures that are sustainable when people are integrated back into the society, that is what the lockdown is for, not just to keep people in their homes until the virus goes down,” she added.

Dr. Nsofor, a public health physician and Senior New Voices Fellow at Aspen Institute, decried Nigerians’ attitude towards adherence to the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines despite the high number of cases and deaths recorded daily, which he said is six times the cases recorded earlier.

Other health experts that kicked against lockdown were the Medical Director of Medical Art Centre (MART), Maryland, Lagos, and President, African Fertility Society (AFS), Prof. Oladapo Ashiru; and a consultant public health physician and Executive Secretary, Enugu State Agency for Control of AIDS (ENSACA), Dr. Chinedu Arthur Idoko.

Idoko pointed out that prolonged lockdown could lead to spike in the spread of the virus.
He said: “You will agree with me that sometimes the intended regulation of movement and interaction of people during the lockdowns fail to achieve the intended purpose when people living within same neighbourhoods gather together in discussion, domestic social groups as a result of boredom resulting from restrictions. These gatherings form an effective cell of viral transmission. It therefore requires a balanced approach to the control of this virus.”

Ashiru said emphasis should be on enforcing use of face mask and physical distancing.

“There must be zero tolerance for parties and night clubs. Just as Thanksgiving holiday created another spike of COVID-19 in the USA, in Nigeria the current spike we are witnessing is as a result of several holiday visitations from USA, UK, Europe, and South Africa. They have all come and gone. Lockdown now is like closing the barn after the horse has bolted. We need to prevent more spread by educating our people effectively on the consequences of social gathering and not wearing mask.”

To cap it all, the President of the Guild of Medical Directors, Prof. Olufemi Dokun-Babalola, also kicked against another lockdown. He warned that a hard lockdown at this time could be devastating to the economy.

Dokun-Babalola told The Guardian that instead of hard lockdown, measures that could be taken by government to contain the new wave included banning of indoor gatherings, limiting outdoor gatherings to ten, making face mask mandatory and payment of penalties.

The Guardian

Nigeria expects 42 mln doses of COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX scheme

Nigeria expects to get 42 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines soon to cover one-fifth of its population in partnership with the global COVAX scheme, a senior health official has said.

Faisal Shuaib, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said the initial doses would come as part of Nigeria’s plan to inoculate 40 percent of the population in 2021, and another 30 percent in 2022.

The vaccines would be acquired through the World Health Organization’s COVAX program, which aims to ensure equal access to COVID-19 vaccines for all participating countries, including Nigeria, whose large population of 200 million people and poor infrastructure pose a daunting challenge to rolling out the vaccinations, he told a press conference in Abuja, the capital city, on Tuesday.

Nigeria, which is combatting a second spike in COVID-19 cases, will first inoculate frontline health workers, first responders, national leaders, people vulnerable to coronavirus, and the elderly, Shuaib said.

On Tuesday night, the west African country reported 1,354 new cases, its highest single-day jump, up from the previous day’s 1,243 cases. The total number of confirmed cases now stood at 92,705.

Nigeria has so far reported 1,319 deaths related to COVID-19; 76,396 patients have recovered.

Xinhua