Coronavirus: How To Reduce Lagos’ High Infection Rate

Lagos keeps topping the coronavirus league. Yesterday was 23 new cases. And these are only the official figures.

What’s more, Lagos, arguably Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, keeps exporting cases to other states as people travel low-key from Lagos to other parts of the country.

The cause of the high number of infections in Lagos is that the state has been locked down without adequate relief materials for many staying at home.

Daily income earners still have to go out because without going out, they and their family will starve. Going out exposes them to more risk of contracting coronavirus.

Several people have been robbed and their foodstuff and money taken from them because there is hunger in the land. Those victims have to go out to see how they can bring back food into the house. Going out exposes them to more risk of contracting coronavirus.

I fear that more people might be tempted to go out as the lockdown is extended and their food supplies run thin. Going out might expose them to the risk of contracting coronavirus.

Ordinarily, lockdown is a brilliant idea, and would have made Lagos/Nigeria global celebrities, because if coronavirus doesn’t see who to infect, it will just expire.

Unfortunately, the lockdown has been badly handled so far. That’s why Lagos, has hundreds of new infections.

When you allow people to become so hungry and desperate that they struggle to grab food anywhere they see it in abundance, infections might multiply in the huge crowds created. And this is not election season where crowds are welcome. This is Covid-19 pandemic season for crying out loud!

Crowds must be discouraged, wether in day-time or night-time. And the only way to discourage such crowds is to send abundant food to those who need it.

Either you imitate President Trump who’s sent the equivalent of N462,135.12 to each American resident, or you send it in form of food. But you must send something heavy. Not something light.

@FG, @LASG, simply put, you cannot do covid-19 lockdown relief in Lagos without spending billions and making sure the relief materials/ monies are not hijacked.

#LagosMatters.