Save Our Heritage Initiative (SOHI) has appealed to Nigerians to show more commitment in efforts to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Head of the non-governmental organisation (NGO), May Ikokwu, in an interview with the Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), lamented that some Nigerians do not use face masks or observe social distancing.
Till date, Nigeria has recorded over 90,00 cases of Covid-19, more than 70,000 recoveries, and over 1,000 deaths, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Nigeria, in December 2020, confirmed a new variant of Covid-19 within its borders.
‘The emergence of new Covid-19 variants is common. However, those with higher speed of transmission or potentially increased pathogenicity are very concerning’, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said.
‘Crucial investigations are underway to comprehensively understand the behaviour of the new mutant virus and steer response accordingly’.
The WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention had in September launched a network of 12 laboratories in Africa to reinforce genome sequencing of the Covid-19.
In the interview, Ikokwu advised Nigerians to comply with safety protocols.
‘Even if we had made the mistake of not complying with the safety protocols as prescribed by the NCDC in 2020, let us ensure that we comply strictly to it in 2021’, she said.
‘That we failed to comply in 2020 and luckily did not get infected with the pandemic does not imply the non-existence of the pandemic but sheer luck.
‘Please let us all be responsive in fighting this pandemic to avoid a realisation of some unpleasant predictions about Africa by some foreign news agencies’.
Ikokwu reiterated calls for community responsiveness, and commended the federal government for rising to the occasion through the Ministry of Health and the NCDC.
She said that pandemics of such strain and magnitude could only be contained with collective efforts of all stakeholders irrespective of their ideological differences.
Source: NAN
Photo source: International Labour Organisation
