On Sunday, April 26, 2020, the Kaduna State Government in Northwest Nigeria, issued an official statement extending the Covid-19 lockdown in the state by another gruelling and tortuous 30 days.
This is coming one month after the state was locked down on March 26, following the recording of its first index case. The new curfew regime was contained in a statement issued by Muyiwa Adekeye, the Special Adviser to Governor El-rufai on Media & Communication.
Some highlights of the revised lockdown as contained in the statement are to the effect that: (a) All residents of Kaduna are quarantined and must stay at home; (b) No office, event centre, market, shop or business of any sort or place is allowed to open; (c) All persons who venture out must wear facemasks … as wearing of facemasks will be robustly enforced; (d) Residents are expected to remain at home and observe social distancing (and other Covid-19 protocols).
To ensure compliance, the statement said the Quarantine Orders prescribed specific fines, imprisonment and forfeiture for violations of the provisions so prescribed. Curiously, the statement was silent on specific additional efforts being made to tame the spread of the virus, including the total number of tests so far conducted and the pattern of infections, be they from external contacts or through community transmission.
As at April 26, Kaduna has 15 confirmed Covid-19 cases. This figure, while not underestimating the fact that even a single case is bad enough, nonetheless, shows that Kaduna State does not belong in the league of high risk states.
While we commend the Kaduna State Government for its proactive intervention in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the fact however, remains that the 30 day extension and review of the earlier 2 day window period could be counterproductive for the following reasons: (1) Kaduna residents had patriotically borne the brunt of the earlier lockdown which came into effect on March 26, 2020, in the belief that the State government meant well in its bid to curtail further spread of the deadly virus.
However, it would appear that that good will and understanding shown by the people is misplaced as the new regime of lockdown which seems not to take cognisance of the hardships the people have had to endure in the past one month, has eroded the peoples trust and confidence.(2) The nearly one month extension will most certainly wear many Muslim faithful out, as they may have to contend with the difficulty of further staying at home with little or no money to facilitate the observance of the Ramadan fast. The fasting period is usually a time when family heads need more money to provide food and other necessities for their households. Many families, especially those who depend on daily income, have virtually run out of cash. This may put them on edge. Non Muslims do not fair any better under the present circumstance,
(3)The reduction of the hitherto two day outing window to only Wednesdays, is to say the least, not well thought out. If anything, the Wednesday only window, will further compromise the social distancing protocol as markets will most certainly witness unprecedented surge in the number of people trooping out to replenish their stocks, with little or no regard for observing adequate spacing.(4) the proposed state wide compulsory facemask wearing regime may task the lean finances of the already financially overburdened residents (5) the 30 day quarantine period does not seem to synergize with the covid-19 response protocol of the government at the centre. Arising from the foregoing, I wish to suggest the following: (a) Review of the 30 day lockdown period to 14 days, (b) strict enforcement of the interstate border closure to forestall unauthorized entries into Kaduna. An undercover taskforce could be emplaced to monitor and sanction security personnel who may compromise the enforcement of the protocol for pecuniary benefits, (c) reinstatement of the free movement days to the previous 2 days(Tuesdays &, Wednesdays)(d) the enforcement of the facemask protocol should not be done by executive fiat without taking care of the affordability and availability factors.
In other words, government should mass produce and distribute the items at no cost to the already traumatized folks(e) Government must demonstrate some transparency by disclosing the total of people so far tested, the pattern of infection across local government areas as done in Lagos State. Such information will enable the citizenry to make informed decisions as to where or where not to visit during the lockdown,(f) Rather than the current endless lockdown, the government should scale up its Covid-19 fight by rolling out new containment strategies in addition to setting up new test and isolation centres across the state. That done, will enhance further testing to know the number of Covid-19 positive cases.
So far, Government seems to have kept the total figure of people tested for Covid-19 close to its chest. This should not be the case. Since government and governance is about the people, His Excellency will do well to show leadership as he has always done, by bending over backwards when needs such as these, arise. Public opinion favours the suggestions outlined above. God bless Kaduna State.
Dr Linus Akor Writes From Kaduna