MIMIKO WRITES ON COVID-19

The former Governor of Ondo state who is a renowned Medical director, wrote on the need for social distancing as a major ammunition against Covid-19.

The political juggernaut, abiye pioneer and the man whose impact in the Nigeria health sector wrote below;

Covid-19...Imperative of Social/Physical Distancing (SD/PD)

It is being speculated in some quarters that we may do well to abandon SD/PD for a deliberate ‘herd immunity’ strategy. That is, infection of a significant proportion of the population, ending in conferring immunity in all.

This is essentially based on assumption that Social/Physical Distancing may be impossible to enforce in Nigeria because of socio-economic and cultural circumstances and that level of fatality here is low and will remain so. That in fact SD/PD can only be successful in authoritarian political climes like China. I beg to differ.

Much is still unknown about the behavior and future epidemiological trajectory of this new corona virus, therefore, any nation that bases containment on purely speculative thinking may end up with very disastrous consequences. Apart from authoritarian China, Social/Physical Distancing has been proven to have achieved positive results in South Korea, Taiwan and is reportedly coming out right in Germany among other places.

There is need to emphasize that the disturbing trajectory of the disease in places like Italy, Spain and the US may have been due to late emplacement of SD/PD, and initial incoherent information management strategy.

UK’s apparent initial policy of fantasizing with ‘herd immunity’ strategy was blossoming into disastrous outcome before the present near total lockdown through SD/PD.

Let us be reminded that the SCIENCE of Covid-19 for now is that Social/Physical Distancing works in breaking the transmission. Let’s stick to that. Our guiding information authorities must remain WHO, FMOH and NCDC.

Of course, we need to ramp up our efforts in testing and tracing as part of the containment strategy. Yes we have our well known limitations to test and trace, which to my mind, makes SD/PD and of course improved personal hygiene the most valuable arrow in our quiver of containment.

We cannot afford to dither. We must make SD/PD work while there is still time (I hope we are not already fatally late). It can work here. It has to work. Nelson Mandela’s famous quote readily comes to mind: ‘It seems impossible until it’s done’ 

Yes. Social/Physical  Distancing has to work here by paying attention to three vital components;

a) Emergency nationwide 'Stay at Home' declaration backed by appropriate legislation.

b) Emergency, innovative & transparently disbursed food palliatives for the vulnerable leveraging technology and community based organisations.

c) Enforcement with exception of well-defined essential services.

We must summon the POLITICAL WILL. Lagos State is already providing the lead.

If we comply with presently universally known science of Covid-19 and if it later unfolds and scientifically proven that we have some inherent genetic or environmental bulwark against the virus, that will be a very welcome BONUS!

May the good Lord heal our land.

This is me 'Just Thinking Aloud!