Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the wordpress-seo domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/bcm/src/dev/www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6121 Covid19 | Zikoko!
Since the first Lagos state lockdown was announced and then extended,all Lagosians have been clamoring for is the day when the lockdown will finally be lifted. The good news is that the day has come (Lagos May 4th) but the bad news is Lagos does not look good.
If you’re home self-isolating like everyone should be doing, well done. Here’s a virtual tour of how other Lagosians are spending their time.
On one side we have people congregated on the roads paying tribute to traffic. The roads are packed with vehicles that are of course filled with people even though the government already put limitations on the capacity vehicles are allowed to carry. Everybody is just freestyling it. Lagos traffic =100000, Social distancing = 0.
Danfos are back on the road with business as usual (angry drivers, chill-less conductors. and vexed passengers). The long bus queues of people waiting to pack themselves into BRT’s are back too. Some of these people are not wearing masks and we only hope that they washed their hands before boarding the buses and after they alight because as we all know, COVID-19 did not come to play.
For some odd reason on the other hand people are rushing into banks. The result is a sea of bodies trying to force themselves in at the same time. Again, no social distancing here.
With all the evidence that people are totally not social distancing. Was it wise for Buhari to have lifted the lockdown? Will the number of Covid-19 casualties increase? Will “Lagos May 4th” morphe into our worst nightmare?
Self-isolating sounds a lot like the opposite of anybody’s best life. How can back to back hanging out with your furniture and window be a best life. It is ridiculously painful, we know. But guess what? There’s a method to these things and we’ve devised one to get you living your best life even while self-isolating from COVID-19.
Grab a pen because you are about to get schooled.
Stock Up On Your Faves
First you need to make sure that your quarantine buddies are all your favs. Especially favorite food. If you’re going to be stuck indoors for a while, it only makes sense that you get stuck with things you actually love. Secure the food yo!
Back Up Your Electricity
By now you must already know that NEPA lives to disappoint. Come through for yourself with your generator. Make sure it is in good shape so that nothing spoils your groove. Then get a big keg and fill it up enough fuel.
Block False News Carriers on Social Media
This is for your own sanity dear. You can’t be living your best life if you keep getting minor heart attacks courtesy of fake alarms from false news casters online.
Yasssss, subscribe and sit back as we keep you informed and entertained. We have the latest updates on COVID-19 too so it’s a total win-win for you. You can also watch our Youtube videos and follow us on social media (Facebook and Instagram) @zikokomag so you don’t miss out on all the fun we’re spreading this period.
Create Your Jamming Playlist
This play list will come through for you when you get bored and just want to dance. Or twerk. Or do both. Think of it as your personalized DJ.
Read a Nice Book
Books are like movies you can watch without a television or electricity. Pretty genius if you ask me. And you probably need to give your eyes a break from all the screen time.
Stay in Touch With Friends and Family
Don’t forget to check up on your friends and family while you’re at it. Now is the time to respond to your mother’s Whatsapp broadcast messages. Just so you’re sure she is also up to date with the latest news on COVID-19
Exercise while indoors
You need to stay active and keep your body in good shape too. At least once a day do some activity like push ups, skipping or even dancing. Dancing is a fun way to exercise. See why you need that playlist?
And while you stay home in comfort and safety, Guardian has put together a useful resource on Coronavirus in Nigeria. Click here to get the latest COVID-19 information in Nigeria.
If you self-isolate from Covid-19 in itself is not enough. We are going up against the pettiest contagious virus known to mankind and it is simply not enough to stay in your houses. While you self isolate there’s a list of things that could still make you vulnerable to COVID-19 so do well to avoid them.
The World Health Organisation recommends that smokers should stay away from their smoking equipment this period. Why? Because you need your lungs in their healthiest shape and your immunity top notch. Smoking compromises on that. So while you self isolate, best to keep the lighters away.
Again on the immunity scores, now is the time to reach for the veggies and fruits as opposed to the junk you probably prefer. Your body needs all the nutrients you can feed it with. You need to stay healthy.
Unverified News Sources
For your own sanity, stay away from any source of incorrect news about COVID-19. How do you know which is false news? Crosscheck with sources like WHO, Worldometer, NCDC and Zikoko (Yes because we cross check with WHO too).
No strange foods while you self isolate please
Because while we are busy fighting an on going pandemic birthed by strange food choices we will very much appreciate it if you do not go on to birth a new one for us.
No visitors please
This is the time for every friend to stay home and enjoy the rent they paid. Just because we are all at home doesn’t mean it is time to start entertaining visitors. Everyone should really stay in their houses.
And don’t forget to wash your hands or use an alcohol based hand sanitizer as often as you can even as you self isolate. If you’re wondering what to do while indoors we got you covered.
Click here for some creative ways to keep busy this period.
While there is a lot of information on how to prevent getting Coronavirus, there is not a lot of help regarding what to do if you suspect that you are infected. If we are being honest, as Nigerians living in Nigeria, there’s only so much you can do to avoid getting infected because we lack the infrastructure to properly self-isolate. This means that we are fucked.
So, to cover all bases, your friends at Zikoko created a handy guide on how to prepare in case you get infected.
First, the Coronavirus is not a death sentence if properly managed. That knowledge is the first step to beating this virus. This is because it helps you not to panic and to follow the instructions below.
So, what do I need to know?
The virus causes nasty breathing problems. Think of something more uncomfortable than cold and catarrh. So, think of all your cold symptoms such as sniffling, headache, temperature, etc. Now is the time to stock up on paracetamol, wipes for cleaning your nose, some honey and lemon. All these help with relieving the symptoms that usually present with this illness. If you are experiencing high body temperature, take paracetamol over any form of “strong” painkiller because it is the safest for now.
Water, e no get enemy.
If you suspect that you are infected you want to be drinking a lot of water. Drink plenty of water because it plays a huge role in regulating body temperature along with transporting essential nutrients round the body. While staying hydrated can’t protect you against getting infected, it can help with recovery.
Rest, rest, rest!
This is not the time to be outside. You should not leave your house even if you start to feel better because you may be infectious. Isolate at home for the next fourteen days and avoid contact with elderly people. Also, ask your family members to leave supplies outside and keep their distance from you. Better to be safe than sorry. It is also important that the rest of the family members stay quarantined for the next 14 days as they may also be infected.
Don’t panic.
To avoid overwhelming healthcare workers, don’t go to the hospital UNLESS you have difficulty breathing or a very high (39 degrees Celsius) fever which is unmanaged by medications. Healthy adults with no previous complications and underlying diseases have bounced back with rest and home medications.
However, if you show any of the above signs, call the Nigerian Center for Disease Control on their toll-free numbers for more information on what to do next. This is because leaving your house to go to a hospital without proper protocol can result in more infections thus spreading the virus more.
If you have any pre-existing condition, you should talk to your healthcare provider on how they would like you to proceed if you get sick.
What’s up, Zikoko Fam? It would mean the world to us if you spared a few minutes to fill this Reader Survey. It’s so we can bring you the content you really want!
The Nigerian Government’s Decisions on Coronavirus are now public, thanks to the Presidential Task Force On Coronavirus. They have reached important decisions that will impact almost every Nigerian in the coming day and weeks, but before we get into that, let’s start from the beginning.
On December 31, we saw the beginning of a fast-spreading new virus – the coronavirus. On February 27th, a first case was announced in Lagos, Nigeria. The NCDC has been seemingly on top of the case — reporting new cases and attempting to track down possible cases. As of today, there are only three known cases of the virus in Nigeria.
Nigerians have been clamoring for the president to address the country and for the government to take proactive steps in sensitizing citizens. Some citizens want the borders to be closed and for travel to be banned. Well, in response to this, a Presidential Task Force On Coronavirus (PTF-COVID9) was recently set up by the Nigerian government and here are the decisions they reached on March 17.
1. Nigerians are advised to cancel or postpone all non-essential travel:
PTF-COVID19 Decisions, March 17, 2020
— The general public is strongly advised to cancel or postpone all non-essential travel – whether business or pleasure – abroad, especially to “high-risk countries.” (Will list countries later in thread)
The Nigerian Government is saying that if you don’t have to travel, you shouldn’t travel to places with high-risk. Find some of those countries here.
2. Public officials and civil servants are BANNED from official travel:
— ALL official travel by public officials and civil servants is hereby banned “until further notice.” Approvals previously granted for such travel are accordingly rescinded.
We do honestly hope that this is not spoiling all of our dear president’s travel plans. Just a genuinely concerned citizen here.
3. Anyone that comes into Nigeria from the abroad is to self-isolate for 14 days:
— Everyone traveling / returning to Nigeria from abroad is urged to strictly self-isolate for 14 days in their homes. @NCDCgov has today issued guidelines for self-isolation; these will be widely publicized.
Self isolating simply means staying indoors and completely avoiding contact with other people. This is to stop other people from getting it. It Is important to do this if you’re showing Coronavirus symptoms. Symptoms include runny nose, dry cough, fever. Other times you should self isolate:
Before getting tested for coronavirus.
While you wait for test results.
If you have had a positive test result for coronavirus or been in contact with someone who has tested positve.
Here are six tips to protect yourself from the virus.
4. The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control will be actively monitoring everyone who has come into Nigeria:
No, they don’t want to deliberately spy on you. They want to protect Nigerians and it only applies if you’ve come from a country with high community transmission rates (esp countries with 1,000 cumulative cases and above).
5. We’re to avoid crowded places and practice social distancing:
Social distancing is basically curtailing social contact with people. It might mean working remotely, instead of going to work. The Nigerian Government is urging Nigerians to practice social distancing in order to limit/stop the spread of the disease.
It’s hard considering a lot of states are quite clustered and you may not escape entering danfo. But what can woman do in this perilous times? We’ve made a list of things we think you should avoid.
6. If you’re wondering who is on the Presidential Task Force For The Control Of Coronavirus Disease, here’s a list.
It took the Nigerian government long enough, but we’re glad they’ve spoken; the Nigerian government’s decisions on coronavirus are now public.
We hope they put their money where their mouth is and enforce these decisions.
While we wait for more instructions from the federal government, we thought of innovative ways to greet your friends outside of hugging and handshaking. Find out about that here.
The Lagos State Ministry of Health reported earlier today that a new case of the Covid-19 has been discovered making this the third case in Nigeria.
Breaking! Third case of #COVID19NIGERIA confirmed in Lagos. – This is a new case independent of the index case – 30 year old Nigerian, female – Returned from the UK on 13th March – Observed self-Isolation, developed symptoms – Tested positive – Now at Mainland GH receiving care pic.twitter.com/f8osZk4Ba4
1) This is a totally new case independent of the previously infected people.
2) The infected person recently got back from the U.K and took some measures.
3) No need to panic. The patient is receiving care and being monitored at Mainland General Hospital.
The Government has also advised that people who recently got back from the BA 75 flight on the 13th of March should isolate themselves.
Breaking! #COVID19Lagos Updates If you are a passenger on flight BA 75 that arrived in Lagos on 13th March, 2020, stay at home and isolate yourself for 14 days. Call @LSMOH hotlines now; 08000corona, 08023169485, 08033565529, 08052817243, 08028971864, 08059758886, 08035387653 pic.twitter.com/TIzkV3z0U0
