03/04/2020
THE PANDEMIC
BOLUWATIFE APONMADE
It was on a Friday, 28 February, 2020, I had woken up that morning with a mild headache and a runny nose. I checked the time on my phone first in my characteristic manner, jumped out of bed, performed my ablutions and went to say my prayers.
I returned to bed immediately after Solaat, deliberately ignoring the fact that I had a class by 12noon and assignments to submit before then. I went through messages on WhatsApp, reading various broadcast messages concerning the deadly Corona virus (COVID-19) after which I checked statuses, thereby confirming my fears that the Corona Virus is already in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, and the most appalling news of all was that the indent case (a visiting Italian) was right at an Isolation Centre, Yaba, Lagos.
My heart beats faster as I continued reading more about the symptoms, prevention and all. While I concentrated more on the symptoms, I read “symptoms include, sneezing, coughing, sore throat, headache, fever and …”, I stopped right there and stared at my screen for few seconds. I sneezed again, and then again which was becoming more frequent in the last 40 hours. I gathered myself avoiding crying after I thought I had contacted the deadly corona virus.
I summoned courage to convince myself severally that it was just catarrh and went to take my bath, prepared for school and called one of the emergency toll free lines in charge of curtailing the new virus in town.
The corona virus (COVID-19) was reported to have originated from Wuhan, China. It was incredibly rumored to have been manufactured in a laboratory in China due to overpopulation. Other sources also speculated that the virus emanated from bats and or snakes.
Before this pandemic, I've heard of Corona virus only once during a Botany lecture when we were taught shapes of viruses with examples. Not in my wildest dream would I have imagined its reality. But here we are, the world is in an almost total isolation because of this virus, reports have it that it is not as deadly as the Ebola nor the SARS virus, what then makes COVID-19 more threatening and contagion all over the globe?
Research has revealed that COVID -19 symptoms are difficulty in breathing, dry cough, headache, fever, runny nose, sneezing and constant high temperature.
To avoid the Corona virus, self isolation, social distancing, regular application of sanitizer, hand washing with soap among others are key.