An Abuja-based NGO, Initiative for Leadership Development and Change (ILDC),
has cautioned Nigerians who threw the COVID-19 protocols to the wind to continue to abide by the rules “as
COVID-19 is not just real, but very much around without an enduring cure.”
The President of the group, Chief Ugochukwu Nnam, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday.
Nnam, who said he had observed that many Nigerians had abandoned the COVID-19 protocols and were going about their activities without any caution,
urged all not to lose the guard against the deadly disease, which he said could escalate community spread of the virus.
He said that the ENDSARS protesters who went about their activities mingling with one another without observing the protocols could infect many.
He added that “as we speak, a lot of us no longer use face mask or hand sanitiser or even wash our hands as often as we should.
“Many of us no longer observe the safety protocols, while others keep having the misconception that COVID-19 is over.
“COVID-19 is very much around and not yet over; some countries which recorded a second wave are even going for a second lockdown; everyone
must be cautious and must maintain the protocols as no cure is found yet.”
The ILDC boss reiterated the need for Nigerians to embrace all the precautionary measures, especially now that schools had opened,
to prevent community spread.
According to him, the disease can be passed on from children to older parents or grandparents without them knowing.
“The belief that children are asymptomatic does not imply that they cannot transmit it to their aged parents or grandparents who we know are at very high risk.”
Nnam explained that data suggested that children under the age of 18 years represent about 8.5 per cent of reported cases, with relatively few deaths compared to other age groups.
He said that preexisting or underlying medical conditions had been identified as risk factors for severe disease and intensive care admission in older persons.
He also noted the imperatives of contact tracing in efforts to contain the spread of the deadly disease.
He said “we need to make sure that our children are well protected and monitored so that they cannot carelessly or ignorantly transmit the disease to older parents at home.”
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NDCD) as at Thursday said “Nigeria presently has 62,521 cases with 58,249 recovered, while 1,141 deaths have so far been recorded.” (NAN)
