To millions of Nigerians, the nation has moved past the worst of the coronavirus. That is even if the virus is “real and potent” in the country in the first place, many will argue.
After months of lockdowns with the attendant economic downturn, job losses, rise in domestic violence and health emergencies coupled with biting hunger, things appear to be fully returning to normal.
With Yuletide fast approaching, Nigerians now reckon it is safe to let their guards down – hands are no longer washed often, facemasks are almost forgotten, mass gatherings are no longer a problem, parties, weddings and even protests are back on the cards.
But it could just be a matter of small time before this comes back to bite us even harder and more devastating this time, health experts warn. As it is happening across Europe and the U.S., the dreaded second wave of coronavirus has commenced.
When it became clear that COVID-19 would be a global pandemic, public health experts warned of the devastating effect it would have on Nigeria and much of Africa. That forecast has not materialized compared to the havoc the deadly contagion is wrecking in the western world and many scientists are still struggling to figure it out.
But as the numbers begin to pick pace gradually in Nigeria, worries are rife that the second wave could be well on its way and would be more deadly especially now that we have lowered our guard.
Nigeria’s new COVID-19 infections have increased in the last two weeks, a PREMIUM TIMES review of official data shows, suggesting a possible resurgence in cases after weeks of low numbers.
Last week (November 1-7), the country recorded 937 new cases, a two per cent increase from the previous week’s record of 923 cases which was a 32 per cent increase from the preceding week.
Nigeria recorded its highest daily figure of confirmed infections in three months with the 300 reported cases on Sunday, raising the total tally to over 64, 000.
Second wave
Countries across Europe are seeing a resurgence in COVID-19 cases after successfully slowing outbreaks early in the year, declaring more cases each day now than they were during the first wave earlier in the pandemic.
England, Portugal and Hungary are among nations in a second lockdown as the new wave of infections sweeps through, shattering efforts and responses to keep the contagion at bay.
Cases in the U.S. are also smashing new records with over 10 million infections thus far, a fifth of the over 50 million total global tally.
COVID-19, the potentially dangerous pneumonia-like disease caused by the coronavirus and said to have emanated from a local Wuhan market to spread to over 200 countries, has also claimed more than 1.2 million lives. This has exceeded the upper range of 290,000 to 650,000 annual deaths linked to severe influenza illnesses.
Drawing on historical pandemics, health experts believe second waves of viral infections are often more destructive.
The second wave of the Spanish flu pandemic during 1918-20 was particularly devastating and more lethal than the first, according to Full Facts, an international fact-checking network. The second wave of the H1N1 swine flu epidemic in 2009 to 2010 was also more lethal than the first.ADVERTISEMENT
Studies also show that natural defenses against viral infection like mucus and your nose’s cilia do not work as well in colder, dry climates, the very season we are about to enter.
Chikwe Ihekweazu, the director-general of Nigeria’s infectious disease agency, NCDC said a second wave was “inevitable” if citizens do not continue to adhere to measures put in place to contain the viral pandemic.
