Renowned Professor of virology and former Vice-Chancellor of the Redeemer’s University Nigeria, Oyewale Tomori, has said emerging indices show that Nigeria is currently not winning the war against COVID-19.
Tomori, in an interview with PUNCH HealthWise, said Nigeria was concentrating more on battling Special Anti-Robbery Squad, without consideration for the other SARS which is Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
It would be recalled that Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, also warned on Saturday that the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is imminent if Nigerians continue to disregard all safety protocols.
Ehanire raised the alarm during the virtual Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Guild of Medical Directors in Lagos State.
The Minister expressed that with the high volume of human traffic from Nigeria to those continents, reopening of schools, the #EndSARS protest, and many other factors, Nigeria is predisposed to a second wave of the pandemic.
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Confirming this, Professor Tomori said;
We are not winning either war and as we fight the Police SARS, we are forgetting and losing the other.
The low positives we are getting reflect the low numbers we are testing. Many states have stopped reporting.
He noted;
Lagos talked of 181 students testing positive out of 440; there was a report of a university in Kaduna State with positive students, yet no one is talking about these.
The virologist expressed concerns that though the continent was fortunate enough to be spared the COVID-19 fatalities currently ravaging Europe, he, nevertheless, warned that Nigeria need not rest for now.
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He expressed;
Yes, we are not seeing the European situation here but let us not deceive ourselves about the drop in the number of positives, it is a reflection of a significant drop in the number of tests performed. The epidemiology of the COVID-19 disease in Europe differs from that of Africa. So, we have to use different approaches.
Tomori asked;
Have we done some things right? Yes, of course, but we have also not done many things right like inadequate and uncoordinated testing, like poor contact tracing. like non-complying with basic preventive measures.
Read Also: NCDC Records 162 New Coronavirus Cases, 245 Recoveries, No Death
As at Saturday, Nigeria recorded 62,853 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 58,675 recovered patients and 1,144 deaths. Lagos state is currently the epicentre of the virus, having 21, 238 infections, followed by FCT (6,088 cases) and Plateau (3,640 cases).
