Coronavirus Epidemic #Stories4Health

On 31 December 2019, China first reported a disease of an unfamiliar source to WHO country office China. On 30 January 2020, the outbreak was declared public. On 11 February 2020 World Health Organization announced coronavirus ( COVID-19) as the name of the epidemic.

Sometime in February, news had it that there was a viral outbreak in Wuhan in China. As days passed, more was heard of people becoming sick, people dying and the efforts of the government of China to contain the situation. However, through human relations and travels. Other countries began to have coronavirus cases. The world did not fully understand the trajectory in the beginning. Thankfully, proactive measures were intelligently emphasized. Safety measures such as; regular hand wash with soap under running water. The periodic application of alcohol-based hand sanitiser. People were asked to stay at home, don’t go to work, don’t go to school, travel bans were imposed locally and internationally.

In the beginning, staying at home afforded many workers the opportunity to spend ample time with family and friends, rest, and relax. With the passage of time, staying at home 24/7  has become boring and monotonous. Families that depend on their daily earnings for their daily meals are the worst hit. Finances of individuals, institutions, corporate bodies, governments and the world at large have been adversely affected. Unfortunately, some people have lost their jobs, some companies have gone bankrupt.

So far, while first-world countries adopted online platforms to meet up with their academic calendar, with second world countries following suit. The third world countries understandably have great challenges in this regard.

In Nigeria, the federal and state governments have made efforts through the radio and television channels to continue to educate pupils and students while the lockdown lasts. Some individuals, corporate bodies and financial institutions in the country have also made efforts to provide online learning platforms. Sadly, a good number of our people in rural places who are not acquainted with online platforms prefer traditional classroom experience. Consequently, most of such people are in search of home lessons. Others are eagerly waiting for life to return to normal.

It is evident that this epidemic has proved our readiness (as countries) to respond to medical crises. The weaknesses of our healthcare systems are crystal clear. Many thanks to our front line health workers around the world.

I pay tribute to individuals, families and countries that have lost dear ones to this epidemic. My profound gratitude to the founders and organisers of #Stories4ealth 

Cheers

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