{"id":14693,"date":"2023-05-09T09:07:42","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T08:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=14693"},"modified":"2023-05-09T09:07:44","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T08:07:44","slug":"how-covid-19-died-a-natural-death-in-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/how-covid-19-died-a-natural-death-in-nigeria\/","title":{"rendered":"How COVID-19 \u2018died\u2019 a natural death in Nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Full Text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a communicable respiratory disease that originated in Wuhan, China, in 2019, shut down the global economy by issuing several safety measures<\/a> and travel advisories<\/a> by different countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Nigeria, measures like the lockdown of non-essential activities, closure of schools, and a ban on international flights, amongst many others, were implemented to curb the spread of the disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years later, in December 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the relaxation<\/a> of Nigeria\u2019s safety measures and travel advisories following the recommendations of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 (PSC).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on Clinical and Laboratory evidence of a sustained reduction in COVID-19 infection\/transmission across the country, this recommendation was perceived by many to mean COVID is gone or has died a natural death.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But is COVID-19 gone? What is the current status of COVID infections amid the widespread belief in Nigeria that COVID died a natural death?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Tuesday, April 26, 2023, there were 764,474,387 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 6,915,286 deaths<\/a> globally. In Nigeria, there are 266,675 total confirmed cases, 3,567 active cases, 3,115 death and\u00a0 259,953 discharged cases<\/a> of deaths so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2023, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) \u00a0recorded 29 new cases<\/a> of COVID-19 infection in one week (January 7 to 13, 2023) and five new cases<\/a> between March 25 to March 31, 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NCDC still has a multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 2, that continues coordinating the national response activities for COVID-19 in Nigeria, giving every cause for concern among healthcare institutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot of NCDC dashboard as of Wednesday, May 3, 2023.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The World Health Organization (WHO), in its April 27 update<\/a>, noted that nearly 2.8 million new cases and over 16,000 deaths were reported in the last 28 days (27 March to 23 April 2023). This new statistic is a decrease of 23% and 36%, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days (27 February to 26 March 2023).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The WHO, however, noted that contrary to the overall downward trend, increases in reported cases and deaths continue to be seen in the South-East Asia and Eastern Mediterranean regions and in countries elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following this, the WHO, in its statement<\/a> on May 5, 2023,\u00a0 noted that\u00a0 COVID-19 is now an established and ongoing health issue. Hence, it no longer constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). It, however, made the following recommendations to state actors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n