A pro-government apologetic who happens to be a very good friend of mine praised the Nigerian government for being proactive in the spread of the COVID-19 which is presently a global concern with over 85,000 people infected and I asked him what the government actually did to deserve his praise. He began talking about the thermal scanners at the airport.
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I had to let him know that according to London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), thermal scanning at airports detects less than 1 in 5 passengers arriving from a 12 hour flight who are infected with the new Coronavirus. That is why countries are placing bans on other countries with a major outbreak.
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I asked, "if the passengers who flew with the Italian in the Turkish airline has been found?" He said he knew nothing and I'm sure many are in his shoes.
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I asked, "how many isolation centers we have in the case of a major outbreak?" He said that we have a standard facility in Lagos.
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I asked him further if the facility in Lagos was capable of taking care of a 1000 patients? He broke out some sweats.
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"Why can't every state have isolation centers?", I asked. He was talking about money to set up and blah blah blah. I said, "You don't justify the unjustifiable because you are being partisan. I don't care about PDP or APC or any other political party. What I care about is your safety and that of millions of others in the country."
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I had to let him know the truth... and that is Nigeria isn't prepared. If it gets worse, Buhari and many other holders who will be following suit, will take another medical tourism to the UK leaving the rest of us to ourselves. Regardless of your political preference, this is the time that you should hold the government to account for every steps they are taking.