LETTER TO MY DAUGHTER 5.

Dear Sharon, be careful of corona virus. 

At Home,
Dear daughter, its been a very long  time since we corresponded. Since December last year, I have not heard any response from you and I am worried about you. How are you doing? I hope you are good and fine? How is studies going over there in the US?

The world is battling a common enemy now so I am sure that you know what this letter is about. The corona virus is a transmittable virus which is carried through the body fluid of an infected person. We have been hearing a lot of heart breaking news since its outbreak last year in Wuhan Province, China. Because Nigerian economy is largely tied to China, we have been indirectly affected by the havoc wrecked by this reckless virus.

 Our government has been boasting left and right and telling anyone who cares to listen that this country is more than adequate to fight the virus if it should enter this country.


Unfortunately, this virus is now in Nigeria. It came in through our borders in February through an Italian who came into Nigeria. The man had tested positive to the virus about three days after coming into the country. THREE WHOLE DAYS passed before he tested positive to the virus. The question is, how many people did he have direct contact with within those three days? How many people did those people have contact with after that and how many more people were unknowingly infected after that.
Just yesterday, it was said in the news that a family of four that just arrived Nigeria from US tested positive to the virus.  I hate to say this, but Nigeria should get ready for one long battle because there are 8 people infected with this virus already in Nigeria.

This is not the time for our leaders to be  shooting empty promises into thin air. It is not the time to organize national fasting and prayer; it is rather the  time to take constructive steps in combating this global menace.

World Health Organization, an arm of the United Nations Organization recently in its publication declared Covid 19 (corona virus) a pandemic. Thousands of people are dead already from this deadly virus. There are countries that are hit by this virus very badly. So far, 8,970 people had died from the virus today, but 85,749 people had recovered. 124, 666 people are currently infected globally and 6, 814 of this cases are criritcal, which means most of those people with critical cases will most likely die.

China alone recorded almost 81, 000 cases with over 3000 deaths. Italy recorded over 35, cases with almost 3000 deaths. Iran too has 17000 cases, Spain, 14,000n plus,. \Germany 12,000 USA 9,134 cases S. Korea 8,565 cases, Switzerland 3,115 and Nigeria has recorded 8 cases aklready though there is no recorded death yet.

Why am I telling you all these, it is because I don't t want you to treat this with levity hands. I know the kind of person  you are. I know that you  dont take things too seriously and I don't nt want you to fall victim to this virus. Economic activities are globally are getting paralyzed already.

Many countries have shut down  their borders to prevent further infection. Even Nigeria had closed its borders against people coming from the worst hit countries like US, UK, China, Italy and about eight other countries which means that Nigeria has temporarily banned people from those countries coming into this country.  You can see that this is a serious matter?

Many international sporting activities and even meetings of world leaders have been cancelled or postponed. Economies are going down by the day. Nigerian economy is currently under threat. The dollar price has increased against the naira and the Nigerian crude oil price has fallen to its lowest price in seventeen years (17 years).

In order to adjust to this unexpected situation, the federal government of Nigeria has already slashed the budget for this year by a big percentage (but you can be sure that the salaries of the political class would not be affected though).

Soon, schools and public gatherings would be closed down indefinitely like it is done in China and religious activities would be postponed. Sharon, imagine the Almighty Saudi Arabia, has postponed Hajj for this year, first time in history!

You may be wondering why I am telling you all these? It is because I want you to be very careful. These are the common symptoms of the virus:
1. Dry and persistent cough.
2.  Fever
3. Tiredness.
4. Difficulty breathing (but this happens mostly in severe cases).
5. Aches or pains etc.
These are the things that you have to do prevent contacting this deadly virus:
1. Wash your hand regularly with 20 seconds with soap and alcohol based sanitizer.
2. Cover your mouth with disposable tissue or nose mask when you sneeze or cough.
3. Avoid close contact with people that are unwell, you can never tell, they may be affected by the virus because its symptoms are not so different from the symptoms of other diseases and ailments.
4. Stay home or isolate yourself if you feel unwell, dont infect others.
5. Maintain social distancing.
6. Seek medical attention immediately if you have fever, cough and pneumonia.
7. Stay informed and follow the trend to know how to protect yourself.
Your mother and your siblings send their greetings to you. Please stay safe and healthy. I love you.
Your Loving Dad.