Abide By The Rules To Save Lives

What would you do if you were experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, but knew that if you went into self-isolation and called the NCDC, you would probably lose out on a multi-million naira deal that you were going to sign off on as well as an interview that would help your business profile?

Now let’s tell you a little story.

Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi returned from the UK after attending a commonwealth event. After her arrival, she fell ill and immediately self isolated and informed the people she had come in contact with to do the same. She got tested and results showed she was positive for Covid-19.

After returning to Nigeria, Seun was supposed to have started a new consultancy job, and there was a deal worth millions that she was supposed to sign. She lost all of that after choosing to self-isolate.

On her Twitter timeline where she posted her experience, she also mentioned how she had to keep calling the NCDC until she got them to respond. At 12am, an ambulance arrived at her house and she was taken to the isolation centre at Yaba, Lagos.

Alone in her ward, she felt disconnected, lonely and bored. A few days later, another patient arrived and after that more patients began to fill up the ward. At this point, she wondered if Nigerians were practicing social distancing and self-isolation.

As the virus made wreaked its havoc, she thought she was going to die. She was nauseous, was vomiting, stooling, and had loss of appetite. But she fought to live, keeping herself hydrated constantly.

After a few days, the doctors gave her the good news that she tested negative! Speaking from a survivor point of view, she also gave some suggestions to the government, whilst still appreciating them for their efforts.

“We should encourage people to get tested & stop the stigma. Practise social distancing and stop the spread.
@NCDCgov & State Governments need to improve their testing capacity. Test mild/asymptomatic cases too.”

Then there’s some advice for the young ones:
“To every young person out there, please give your lungs a chance to beat this. Can I encourage you to stop smoking & live a healthy life at this time? A healthy pair of lungs is KEY!”

In another story, a man came to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). He said he had only fever/tiredness. But the family hid the fact that he had just come back from Europe. He died the day he was admitted at the hospital. Now, all the doctors and nurses who attended to him will have to go into isolation, thus depriving other sick patients the chance to be treated. Not to mention the patients who were in the hospital with him at the time.

More than ever, this pandemic requires all of us to live up to the highest standards of accountability. This involves
– Being truthful and open about your health status. If you are experiencing Covid-19-like symptoms, please do the needful. Self-isolate and call the hospital.
– Practice social distancing
– Practice Respiratory hygiene
– Practice regular handwashing

Stay safe, Stay well, Stay happy