The Nation Newspaper

Category: Special Report

  • 5G and COVID-19: Technology, conspiracy and ignorance

    5G and COVID-19: Technology, conspiracy and ignorance

    In the last few days, there has been so much fuss about the 5-G mobile technology. Corporate and Crisis Communication Expert EMEKA OPARAH separates the facts from the myth.

     

     

    ONE would ordinarily have dismissed the “controversy” around 5G technology and the strange connection with COVID-19 being stridently pursued by some people as ignorant rants occasioned by the morbid fear of the rampaging Coronavirus, but with the prevailing circumstances of fear and tension, I have elected, as one familiar with the workings of the telecommunications industry, to say something.

    Several years ago, I was part of a global campaign by mobile telecommunications operators to debunk a widely held belief that telecommunications base stations emitted radiations that led to Cancer. As an organization, my employers then spent a lot of money on an awareness campaign to explain that the radiations from telecommunications base stations were within the safe limits and definitely not injurious to health.  It worked then and saved the operators a lot of trouble. I hope I succeed this time in helping to clarify this particular issue and stop these manipulative charlatans in their tracks. It has to be stated, though, that times like these are fertile moments for mischief-makers and conspiracy theorists to peddle their virulent wares taking undue advantage of the fears and vulnerability of the people, especially the ignorant and the illiterate. So, while we are keeping safe, we must remain vigilant and ever ready to challenge Fake News and outright lies wherever and whenever.

    First, let’s discuss 5G. What is it? To understand 5G, we must first understand G. G stands for generation. So, 5G means 5th Generation Mobile Technology. Most mobile telecommunications operations are currently running on 4G (4th Generation LTE and high-speed mobile internet). Before now, we have had 3G (voice and mobile data)  and 2G (digital voice) and 1G (analog voice), of course. It must be admitted that the mobile telecommunications industry is probably one of the most innovative and fastest developing of all. Perhaps, the other will be television and aviation. Lest I digress, 5G is the next level, after 4G, and will “elevate the mobile network to not only interconnect people, but also interconnect and control machines, objects, and devices”, according to Qualcomm. Continuing, the technology research and development company says “5G will deliver new levels of performance and efficiency that will empower new user experiences and connect new industries. 5G will deliver multi-Gbps peak rates, ultra-low latency, massive capacity, and more uniform user experience.”

    5G is similar to 4G but it has much better speed, low latency and can take more users. It can enhance the broadband we know today to do more, connect more people and devices and generate more revenue.it is indeed super-fast and has a much smaller cell site than what we already know. And that is no surprise as the world seems to be going smaller, especially in the world of technology. Comparably, 5G is a unified platform that is more capable than 4G.

    Here’s how Qualcomm classified the advantages of 5G:

    1. Enhanced Mobile Broadband: 5G will not only make our smartphones better, but it will also usher in new immersive experiences, such as VR and AR, with faster, more uniform data rates, lower latency, and cost-per-bit.
    2. Mission-Critical communications: 5G will enable new services that can transform industries with ultra-reliable/available, low latency links—such as remote control of critical infrastructure, vehicles, and medical procedures.
    3. Massive Internet of Things: 5G will seamlessly connect a massive number of embedded sensors in virtually everything through the ability to scale down in data rates, power and mobility to provide extremely lean/low-cost solutions.
    4. A defining capability of 5G is also the design for forward compatibility—the ability to flexibly support future services that are unknown today.

    In essence, this is technology that will redefine the way we communicate, entertain, shop, and generally love our lives. If you think 3G and 4G changed the aforementioned, 5G will transform them. By the way, there isn’t much more you need as a user to know about how 5G is delivered to your device, your device or your home, except that you should get ready for new realities-devices, content, apps, lifestyle. Medical scans and other results will also be delivered much faster than ever before. I still treasure the video of the Esophagoscopy test I did 5 years ago! I know Tito and Muna, my twins will forever cherish the video of their first steps and first words! I’m keeping them safely in iCloud! Now to the conspiracies around 5G and the untenable and fallacious connections to the Coronavirus pandemic.

    It is customary in times of strife and great difficulties for bad guys with a proclivity for mischief to take undue advantage of the emotions, the fears and the vulnerabilities of others to peddle all sorts of nonsense including Conspiracy Theories. I must say here that people in that business are usually clever, but they are more often than not clever by half. On the issue of the relationship between 5G and Coronavirus, nothing can be more ludicrously deceptive. The choice of this moment to change the narrative against 5G makes it all too obvious. There has been a strategic campaign against the 5G technology driven by business and diplomacy and propagated by an orchestrated campaign to discredit the innovation. How it got twisted to establish a link to Coronavirus is perhaps the most important argument to debunk the fables.

    I would rather not rehash the claims and allegations by those who are behind the fallacious pretensions to intellectualism, so we do not lend further currency and even credence to them, but suffice it to say that the Conspirators refer to two theories to support the claim that 5G accelerates the new coronavirus. Firstly, that 5G might suppress the immune system and, secondly,  that viruses can communicate through radio waves. Of course, neither of these theories is backed up by evidence and indeed the new coronavirus is also affecting countries and regions where no 5G is currently present. So what are we even talking about?

    The most important point here is that those who should know have come out strongly to debunk them. The UK government yesterday came out with perhaps the strongest rebuttal of these figments of the fertile imagination of some self-styled scientists.

    “There is absolutely no credible evidence of a link between 5G and coronavirus,” the UK’s department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) tweeted, noting that “inaccurate information” was being spread online about 5G. The DCMS pointed to research debunking the supposed link between 5G and the coronavirus, as well as links discussing the actual cause of the infection — direct exposure to COVID-19 particles spread through physical contact, not radio waves.

    Trade association Mobile UK, a group which represents all of the major UK carriers, issued a statement, calling the conspiracy theory “baseless” and “not grounded in accepted scientific theory’, and noting that “some people are also abusing our key workers and making threats to damage infrastructure.” The statement read in part: “During this challenging situation, it is concerning that certain groups are using the COVID-19 pandemic to spread false rumours and theories about the safety of 5G technologies. The mobile industry is putting 100% of its effort into ensuring that the UK remains connected and the Government has rightly recognised our workers and the mobile operators as critical to the national effort.”

    Continuing, it said: “The theories that are being spread about 5G on social media are baseless and are not grounded in accepted scientific theory. Research into the safety of radio signals including 5G, which has been conducted for more than 50 years, has led to the establishment of human exposure standards including safety factors that protect against all established health risks.”

    Categorically speaking, there is no evidence that 5G networks are harmful to health.

    Like the previous generations of wireless network technology (4G, 3G and 2G), 5G mobile data is transmitted over radio waves. Other types of technology that use radio waves include smart meters, TV and radio transmitters, and radar and satellite communications. Most modern medical laboratory equipment use radio waves, some use nuclear radiation, but they are used within the guidelines. By the way, every medication has recommended dosage. Even too much food and drinks can become injurious to health. This is the same principle on which radio waves operate. There are acceptable safe limits, which are determined, specified, regulated and supervised by International Technology Regulatory bodies. That is a universal truth in international best practice. practice.

    According to Kate Lewis of Full Facts, “Radio waves are a small part of a wider electromagnetic spectrum of waves, which all emit energy called electromagnetic radiation. Radio waves are found at the low-frequency end of the spectrum and—alongside microwaves, visible light and heat—only produce non-ionising radiation. This means that these waves cannot damage the DNA inside cells, which is how waves with higher frequencies (such as x-rays, gamma rays and ultraviolet light) are thought to cause cancer.

    To improve the speed and capacity of our wireless technology, 5G uses a higher frequency of radio waves compared to its older generations. The frequency of this new wireless technology remains very low: the maximum levels of electromagnetic radiation measured by Ofcom were about 66 times smaller than the safety limits set by international guidelines. Public Health England states that “the overall exposure is expected to remain low relative to guidelines and, as such, there should be no consequences for public health.”

    Continuing, Lewis wrote: “The Daily Star quotes an “activist and philosophy lecturer at the Isle of Wight College” saying that electromagnetic radiation from 5G suppresses the immune system, helping the virus to thrive. As mentioned above, the level of radiation from 5G is far below levels of electromagnetic radiation thought to cause damage to cells in the human body.

    The second theory appears to be that “viruses “talk to each other” when making decisions about infecting a host”. This is not true. The Daily Star article links to a 2011 research paper which suggested that bacteria may produce electromagnetic signals to communicate with other bacteria. This hypothesis is disputed, and refers to bacteria and not viruses like the new coronavirus.

    “The new coronavirus is also spreading in places without 5G networks. Many parts of the UK do not have 5G coverage yet, but are still affected by the virus (for example, Milton Keynes and Portsmouth). There are no 5G networks at all in Iran, yet this country has been severely affected by Covid-19 (at the time of writing, Iran had the sixth-highest number of reported Covid-19 cases and fourth-highest number of deaths of 177 countries and regions in the world).”

    It is regrettable and highly unfortunate that people should prey on the vulnerability and fears of others in a critical time like this. One would even begin to wonder which generation of mobile technology facilitated the spread of the Spanish Flu aka Influenza, which ravaged the world between 1918 and 1920 and killed over 50 million people worldwide including 500,000 Nigerians! What is even more regrettable is the tendency of otherwise educated, enlightened and widely travelled even influential people to lend credence to these fallacies and flights of academic fantasies by either sharing them without commentary or propagating them as truths and facts.

    In the long run we are all dead, so said the fatalistic Social Economist Thomas Keynes. We are already surrounded by televisions, refrigerators, microwaves cookers and ovens, wireless electronics, computers and all sorts of mobile devices in addition to the radiations we experience during visits to medical laboratories for one health-related investigation of the other. Why cause panic with 5G?

    The law of unity and conflict of opposites presupposes that everything we eat to stay alive ultimately contributes to killing us, one way or the other. It is preposterous to single out 5G technology particularly at this time. I will NOT forget that the United States is not particularly pleased that China beat her to the race for 5G, the reason Huawei Technologies has suffered tremendous (apologies to President Donald Trump) persecution in the hands of the US government. In the end, facts are facts, fiction is fiction. Science is fact not fiction. Stay woke! Be safe! Thank you!

  • I’ve no regrets killing my mother-in-law – Housewife

    I’ve no regrets killing my mother-in-law – Housewife

    Linus OOTA, Lafia

     

    The entire Abena community in Doma Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, is in mourning mood since a housewife, Rosemary Osegba Chem, hacked her mother-in-law, Mrs Ashi Chem, to death over the latter’s alleged undue interference in the former’s marriage.

    Sensing that her marriage to Mr Abaagu Chem was on the verge of collapse on account of her mother-in-law’s undue influence, Rosemary decided that the only way to save her marriage was to kill her mother-in-law.

    Rosemary had got married to Chem, a farmer and petty trader, in February 2016, but the marriage was yet to produce a child. Now 43 years old, Mr. Chem, the only son of his parents, had lost his father when he was only 18 years old.

    Chem’s mother was said not to have hidden her objection to her son’s marriage with Rosemary from day one. Although Chem was madly in love with his heartthrob, his mother allegedly swore never to allow the marriage to work.

    Since Chem defied her mother to marry Rosemary, there has been no love lost between his wife and his mother. Every petty matter was easily amplified into a major issue, resulting in a quarrel and physical combat in many cases.

    In the circumstance, Chem’s mother allegedly mounted pressure on her son to take another wife, describing Rosemary as a witch because of her inability to give birth to a child three years after she got married to Chem. She also allegedly threatened to curse her son if he failed to end his union with Rosemary.

    The pressure was said to have become so much that Chem was beginning to yield to his mother’s bidding. Faced with the grim reality of losing her marriage, Rosemary fetched an axe in the early hours of Saturday, March 18, 2020, walked into her mother-in-law’s room and hacked her to death in her asleep.

    Our correspondent, who visited Abena community immediately he learnt about the incident, met the old woman in a pool of blood.

     

    ‘Why I killed her’

    Asked why she decided to take her mother-in-law’s life, Rosemary said the deceased woman was a threat to her marriage. She narrated how her mother-in-law called her names and wanted to chase her out of her matrimonial home simply because she was yet to give birth to a child after three years.

    She said: “My mother-in-law made life unbearable for me because I could not bear a child for her son. It has been hell for me from day one of this marriage. My mother-in-law did everything humanly possible for me to leave the marriage.

    “She always swore that if indeed she was my husband’s mother, she would not allow the marriage to work. I did everything humanly possible to appease her, but it was all to no avail.”

    “She insisted that I must leave the house and that her son must get married to another girl. True to her threats, she went as far as getting another girl for my husband.

    “I also blame my husband for telling his mother everything about our private matters, including sex, finance and other issues. My husband always complained that I refused him sex most times, even though I told him that I’m not the type that likes to have sex all the time.

    “I don’t have sexual feelings like other women because I was circumcised. But I told him I loved him. We had sex only once in a week, but he couldn’t bear it, and he told his mother who had already developed hatred for me about it.

    “My husband decided to focus his attention on the new girlfriend his mother brought for him. Most times, the girl would spend a whole week in my mother-in-law’s apartment with the consent of my husband.  When I could no longer bear it, I took the decision to eliminate her so that I can save my marriage.

    “I still love my husband and cannot afford to share him with anybody. It is God that gives children. I strongly believe that one day, I will also take in and deliver. It is all in God’s hands.

    “She accused me openly of cheating on his son by calling me all sorts of names, which is embarrassing to me. I was ashamed of myself even moving around. I don’t know what I did to her. The trauma and

    intimidation became unbearable for me, so I was forced to kill her before she would disgrace me out of my husband’s house.

    “My parents are no longer alive. If she gets me out of this marriage, where will I go? Ordinarily, I don’t have much problem with my husband. We always have a way of settling our issues. But her interference was overbearing.

    “In the midst of these, my husband, who used to love me so much suddenly changed and was completely obeying his mom’s directives and I watched him sleep with the proposed girl by his mother, it was clear that he does not have feelings for me anymore.

    I took the decision (to kill her) because I was ready for the worst. The marriage had become boring and characterized by crisis, courtesy of my mother in law.

    “At a point, it became obvious to me that the marriage had irretrievably broken up. I suggested to my husband that since he was convinced by what his mother was telling him, he should let us call it over and I would move on, but he refused. So I concluded that killing her would stabilise my marriage and restore my happiness.

    “I hatched the plan for some time but only made up my mind to execute it today.”

     

    Why I yielded to my mother’s promptings —Husband

    Rosemary insisted that she had no regrets whatsoever for her action and was prepared for the worst, adding that she had not known peace since she got married to Chem.

    But Chem, who looked so confused over the turn of events, told our correspondent that he loved his mum a lot. “She taught me to be the man that I am today—strong, kind and someone who believed in giving a second chance.

    “When my father died, things were not easy, but this woman stood by me to survive the trauma.

    “I am really hurt and traumatised by the violent and horrifying act she committed.

    “My mother was compassionate and caring. Never did I doubt her unconditional love for me. She had taught me to dream and ultimately to live unselfishly.

    “My mother was not wicked or cold-blooded as my wife is painting her. I used to tell her to be calm, but she refused. What does she want me to do? To fight my mother who gave birth to me?

    “Now that she has killed my mother, she will be the one to tell me what she wants, and at the appropriate time, I will battle it out with her. I won’t take it lightly.”

  • Rescued from hell

    Rescued from hell

    Sani Muhammad Sani

     

    Their conditions were as awful as they were pathetic. Their skins were decorated with wounds from lashes and the heavy chains with which their hands and legs were shackled. Their foods were prepared in the most unhygienic conditions and should only be fit only for pigs. They are not only insipid; they are, in most cases, rotten.

    Their inhuman conditions were compounded by the heat in the male ward, which made it difficult to breathe and exposed the hapless inmates to infectious diseases. It was clearly a scene depicting man’s inhumanity to fellow man.

    Those were the conditions of the 54 male and female inmates of an illegal correctional centre in Gusau, Zamfara State, busted by security agents on Tuesday.

    Run by one Malam Iliyasu Abdullahi Gamagiwa, the 30-year-old centre was said to have got most of its inmates enrolled by their parents or guardians for various acts the parents or guardians claimed they were fed up with.

    Zamfara State governor, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, had ordered a crackdown on the illegal ‘correctional centre’, which was effected on Tuesday afternoon. He had got wind of the existence of the centre and immediately ordered his Commissioner for Special Duties, Alhaji Mohammed Saddiq Maiturare, to lead a team of security operatives to the place.

    On arrival, no fewer than 54 male and female inmates were found in the squalid house that served as the centre. Most of the inmates were found chained and subjected to all manner of inhuman treatments.

    Awwal Idris, an 11-year-old inmate, who said he was brought to the centre all the way from Kaduna State, explained that he was the one appointed to share food to the other detained pupils and also took part in preparing the foods.

    Explaining why he was brought to the centre, Idris said he was in the habit of stealing petty things from neighbours and his parents got fed up with it. They told him that he would be travelling with a relative, only to find himself enrolled in the camp on arrival in Gusau.

    Food, according most of the students at the centre, is always served late. Breakfast according to Farida, who was brought in from the Gusau metropolis, is served around 12 pm. She said they were being fed with “bad food” twice a day, despite a monthly payment of N17,500 by every inmate.

    Farida, 24, said her uncle brought her to the centre because he considered her to be stubborn, creating division in the family and causing her parents to be at loggerheads always. The schools certificate holder recalled that whenever she was reprimanded by her mother, her father would rise in her defence and almost divorced her mother because of her.

    Asked what she would do after her release, she said: “I am going to stop misbehaving and get married once I get a suitor.”

    It was gathered many of the parents and guardians of the inmates have long abandoned them because of the fees they had to pay the proprietor.

    It was also gathered that in some cases, the proprietor himself instructed the parents to stop visiting their children.

    In the male ward, one of the inmates, 50-year-old Aminu Ibrahim, a father of one, alleged that at times, the inmates were down with stomachache and would vomit because of the unpalatable nature of the foods that were served them; an allegation the proprietor disputed.

    Ibrahim recalled that he took a wife from a community in Niger State, but she has since packed her belongings and returned to her parents. He said he was a big time businessman before he became bankrupt. It was at this stage, according to him, that his elders lured him to the camp because they believed he had become addicted to hard drugs.

    Read Also: Kaduna inmates revolt over ‘COVID-19 case’

     

    A female inmate, Zainab Sani, had spent six months with chains in both legs, with wounds inflicted on her back, which she said she got from the beatings by the teachers in the camp.

    She said she was brought to the camp by her parents from Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State because they were fed up with her associating with male friends and receiving phone calls from them.

    Another female inmate, Nana Firdausi, was arrested by the Hisbah Command in Kano and handed over to the Hisbah Command in Gusau who in collaboration with her parents took her to the camp.

    Answering questions before he was whisked away in a police Hilux van, Abdullahi said he was glad that the press had gotten hold of the news about his school, which he said would make him famous.

    He asked the state government to assist him and provide the necessary structures for him to continue with what he had been doing for 30 years to enable him tame naughty and prodigal children.

    Abdullahi said: “They are all delinquents, truants and wayward people. Some of them are thieves, some of them take hard drugs and some of them even beat their parents. Ours is to correct them.

    “I have a personal doctor for them; a trained doctor from Yeriman Bakura Hospital in Gusau, who is assigned by me to be their physician. His name is Doctor Lukman. He is here whenever the need for him arises and even when my students are without any ailment.”

    He said he had been running the camp as an almajiri school for more than 30 years, saying that his students consisted mainly of recalcitrant or wayward people and others with criminal tendencies.

    He boasted of his ability to instill and inculcate morality in them with teachings from the Qur’an. Abdullahi said he was an expert in healing cigarette and Indian hemp smokers by giving them a special concoction which they take once in a month.

    By taking the concoction, he said, the inmate would vomit all the rot he or she has been inhaling from weeds and other hard drugs, which, according to him, is a sign that the medication has worked and they would not want use hard drugs when they are fully cured and discharged.

    The security operatives immediately released the inmates and took them to the state remand home where they were fed before next line of action to rehabilitate and reunite them with their families.

    Governor Matawalle has since ordered the closure of the centre as well as the prosecution of its operators.

     

  • The other side of COVID-19 shutdown

    The other side of COVID-19 shutdown

    Some Nigerians are reaping from the shutdown ordered by the Federal Government in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Marriages are being strengthened while family bonding has generally improved because spouses now have an opportunity to stay together for longer periods. Many men and women who hitherto enjoyed reveling at bars, beer joints, leisure places as well as parties now spend more time with their families. But not a few others are lamenting the pains that come with the lockdown, KUNLE AKINRINADE and NWANOSIKE ONU report.

     

    Victor, Sade Olofinwuyi’s husband and insurance practitioner, does not joke with hanging out with his friends on Saturdays. His rendezvous with friends at a backstreet lounge somewhere in Ogba area of Ikeja, Lagos, had denied his family of bonding for years until the lockdown order by the federal government commenced on Monday.

    According to Sade, since the stay at home commenced, her husband has been staying home with the family more than he had ever done; a development she said has endeared him more to her and their children, whose complaints about his absence from home on weekends he had always ignored.

    She said: “The social distancing issue has really helped to strengthen family life and built stronger bonds among spouses and their families. I have a reason to attribute the relative joy that has returned to my home in the last few days to the stay-at-home order issued by the Lagos State Government.

    “For example, my husband is a happy-go-lucky fellow. He is fond of hanging out with his friends most times on weekends, especially on Saturdays. They have a downtown lounge where they hook up, discuss football and indulge in drinking beer. But that has stopped now.

    “Unlike before when he spent the better part of the weekend with his friends at their lounge, he stays indoors now and plays with our children. The result is that the bonding has brought him closer to me and our children, and this in turn has restored the vanished bliss in my 10-year-old marriage.”

    A civil servant in the employ of Lagos State, Frederick Makinde, also explained that his wife now stays at home more than ever before. He explained that his wife, who was fond of attending social events, now spends more time at home with him and their children.

    “My wife runs a grocery store in Ipodo Market in Ikeja. Hardly does a weekend pass without her having a function or two to attend. Her partying spirit had created a gulf in our marriage with occasional quarrels. But since the government’s directive that officers from Grade Level 1 to 12 should stay at home in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus, she has been spending quality time at home.

    “Before now, hardly would a month pass without her attending at least two parties organised by her friends and associates. But now, no one is throwing events or parties, hence, she stays home all the time and this has in no small measure helped us to bond well.

    “Apart from that, she now appreciates that the money she spends on uniformed fabric popularly called aso ebi could be saved to take care of more important needs in her business and at home.

    “Although no one prays for ill-health or outbreak of diseases, I wish that situations like this happen once in a while to mend homes and relationships that had suffered from inadequate bonding.”

    A social worker with a non-governmental organisation at the vanguard of curbing domestic violence in Lagos, Ms Pamela Njoku, also lauded the shutdown over the pandemic.

    She described the lockdown as ‘home mender’ because of its positive impact on her marriage, which she described as not too fantastic before now.

    “For me, as painful as the lockdown might seem to people because of its effect on socio-economic activities in the country, it has helped me to mend my tempestuous home or marriage. It’s been a long time I had the opportunity of being with my family even on weekends because of the nature of my job which consumes my time even on weekends as I have to attend to issues affecting several people in the society.

    “In effect, my husband had complained a lot about my usual absence from home and this had resulted in shouting match or altercations between us on several occasions. But the lockdown has brought me a reprieve and I am now very close to my family for the first time in several years.

    “My husband too is very happy and he joked about it yesterday that he wished the lockdown continues so that I can be more available at home and bond more with him and our children.’’

    A Facebook user, Adebayo Adetayo, shared a post which gained traction on Thursday wherein he promised to appreciate his wife better after finding the time to care for his daughter at home during the lockdown.

    In the message posted on the popular social media platform, Adebayo apologised to his wife for not being there for her in the past. He said that he never knew the hardship his wife was going through to take care of their child because he was not always around.

    He wrote: “After this isolation, I’ll appreciate my wife the more. Imagine my girl emptying a whole hair cream on herself and still coming to share me some in my sleep. This innocent woman (wife) has shouted ‘leave there!’ more than 30 times in five minutes, and I would just put on one yeye suit, go out and come back home expecting to eat the meal and still eat the maker of the meal.

    “…Please let’s appreciate our wives the more. They go through a lot in our absence. These few days at home seems.

    Read Also: Covid-19, contact tracing and social distancing

     

    like I should faint; how much more someone who is always home to put things in place?

    “I tender an unreserved apology to my wife for my previous gragra (grandstanding) and shakara. It’s not easy. Thank you COVID-19 for lessons taught.”

    But women in Anambra have reservation about their husbands staying at home. Reason: their husbands no longer have money to sustain their families and are currently battling hunger.

    Although Anambra is not among the high risk states and has not recorded any case of coronavirus, women in the state are not happy about their husbands staying at home without doing any tangible thing. They have raised the alarm that the coronavirus pandemic is causing hunger in their homes.

    One of the celebrated vendors in Anambra State, Mrs Nancy Onyebuchi Maduagwuna, told The Nation that the situation has almost rendered her husband useless.

    Although she commended the closure of schools and no-work order on workers in public and private establishments to prevent further spread of coronavirus, she said she was not happy about men staying at home without going out to fend for their families.

    She said it is of no use to her if her husband stays at home, having sex without providing for the family.

    According to her, her husband, a commercial driver, had spent a whopping N400,000 on his faulty vehicle whose engine recently knocked. She lamented that with the present situation, it would be difficult for her husband to recoup the money already spent in fixing the car.

    She further lamented that the shutdown had affected the sale of newspapers and supplies to government officials and offices in Awka.

    On the panic buying of food items, the vendor popularly called Nancy, told The Nation that they had no money to do that, adding that only the rich in the state do.

    An expectant mother, Mrs Nkiru Ogbodo, described the situation as worse than the Ebola virus pandemic.

    The mother of three, who works at a cyber café in Anambra State, told The Nation that the situation had become very painful for everyone in the state.

    She said the closure of schools and offices, among others, came unexpectedly.

    According to Mrs Ogbodo, “the masses are not buying anything because of money; only those who have the means are the ones making purchases of sundry items.

    “Now, if you want to buy sanitisers, nose masks or washing buckets, their prices have skyrocketed.

    “For example, masks sell between N300 and N500 in Anambra, while there are sanitizers costing more than N4,000.

    “This is the time our governments at all levels should come out and lead us. If we all die, who will they rule over?

  • Soyinka to states: Don’t cede your powers to Fed Govt

    Soyinka to states: Don’t cede your powers to Fed Govt

     Robert Egbe

     

    NOBEL laureate, Wole Soyinka on Monday warned governors and members of the National Assembly to watch against any attempt by the Federal Government to usurp their powers.

    Soyinka questioned President Muhammadu Buhari’s power to impose a 14-day curfew on Lagos, Ogun and Abuja, in a bid to contain the Coronavirus pandemic.

    He invited states and the lawmakers to determine whether the president acted in accordance with the law.

    The playwright, who on Monday completed his 14-day self-isolation after returning from the United States, stated this in a statement ‘Between covid and constitutional encroachment’.

    The shutdown, which will be for an initial two weeks, “is the containment period to identify, trace and isolate all individuals that have come into contact with confirmed cases,” Buhari said on Sunday night.

    Soyinka said: “Constitutional lawyers and our elected representatives should kindly step into this and educate us, mere lay minds. The worst development I can conceive is to have a situation where rational measures for the containment of the Corona pandemic are rejected on account of their questionable genesis. This is a time for Unity of Purpose, not nitpicking dissensions.

    “Does President Buhari have the powers to close down state borders? We want clear answers. We are not in a war emergency. Appropriately focussed on measures for the saving lives and committed to making sacrifices for the preservation of our communities, we should nonetheless remain alert to any encroachment on constitutionally demarcated powers.”

    He urged Nigerians to exercise “collective vigilance”, adding that failure to do so, could “compromise the future by submitting to interventions that are not backed by law and constitution.”

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    According to Soyinka, the President who has been “conspicuously AWOL, the Rip van Winkle of Nigerian history, is now alleged to have woken up after a prolonged siesta and begun to issue orders.

    “Who actually instigates these orders anyway? From where do they really emerge? What happens when the orders conflict with state measures, the product of a systematic containment strategy, including even trial-and-error and hiccups – undertaken without let or leave of the Centre?

    “So far, the anti-COVID19 measures have proceeded along the rails of decentralised thinking, multilateral collaboration and technical exchanges between states.”

    He noted that the Federal Government has been part of the fight against the virus, “and one expects this to be the norm, even without the epidemic’s frontal assault on the Presidency itself.

    “Indeed, the Centre is expected to drive the overall effort, but in collaboration, with extraordinary budgeting and refurbishing of facilities.”

    But, according to him, stakeholders should ensure that seriousness and urgency of this virus, “should not become an opportunistic launch pad for a sneak re-centralisation, no matter how seemingly insignificant its appearance.”

  • Niger IDPs: we’re home sick

    Niger IDPs: we’re home sick

    By Justina Asishana, Minna

    • How we survived one week without food
    • They never lacked food — NSEMA

    For five months, the displaced people living in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Kuta town in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State have been living in Dr. Idris Ibrahim Primary School, a four-block school. It will has become a home to them.

    These IDPs have said that they tired of remaining in the camp as they cite hunger, poor sanitary conditions, poor sleeping space and poor hygiene as reasons why they no longer want to stay in the camp.

    When The Nation visited the camp on Monday and spoke to some of the displaced people, they disclosed that they had to stay a week without food from the government, adding that during that period, the adults had to rely heavily on the youth.

    Zakari Galadima, who is one of the elders in the camp, said they had to stay a week without food before the government responded to their cry to bring food for them.

    “We stayed a week without food in this camp last week. During this period, the youth were kind to us and helped us tremendously. Relying and leveraging on their strength, the youths helped to contribute to ensuring that there was food in the camp.”

    Galadima said that the youth, during the trying period,  engaged in menial jobs just to gather money for the people in the camp to feed.

    “The youth went out to look for odd jobs; some of them went for mining, others took to construction work. All the proceeds they got, they joined everything together and brought food for the camp to feed.”

    Fati Salihu also corroborated this, saying that the government was aware that they had no food as the chairman of Shiroro council told them that it was being sorted out.

    “During this period, we had to help one another. Those who had saved little over some time shared it with others. We had to scramble and beg for food.”

    We have been robbed of our social activities – Women in IDP camp

    For the women in the Kuta IDP camp, there are no more social activities for them as they have been cut off from every social activity in the past five months. This is the reason they are asking the government to expedite action to enable them return to their homes.

    According to Fati Salihu, staying in the camp has robbed her of her social activities, which she misses above everything else.

    To every question she answered, Fati harped and returned to how she missed attending social activities, which she wouldn’t miss while she was in her homestead.

    “My stay here has destabilised me. Comparing here to staying at home remains incomparable. Staying here has robbed me of my social activities. My enjoyment has been taken away from me. It is incomparable in terms of enjoyment.”

    For Habiba Masuku, staying in the IDP camp meant no more weddings, naming or other ceremonies to attend and she misses these above anything else.

    “While I was in my village, I attended weddings and naming ceremonies often but here, there is really nothing like that. Even the women who gave birth here are too discouraged to even have a naming ceremony. You rarely see any parties happening here.”

    The inconveniences and sleeping arrangements are grossly inadequate – Men in IDP camp

    For the men in the camp, their concern is the sleeping arrangements and inconveniences.

    The stench from the toilets were so terrible that one could smell it from a distance. It was learnt that only the adults use the toilets and bathrooms, while the children defecate and bath openly.

    The IDPs were seen sleeping  in the classrooms on the bare floor with no mattresses in sight when The Nation visited the camp during the week.

    According to Zakari Galadima, most often,  about 50 persons sleep in a classroom without any mattress. “At least in a classroom, you cannot find less than 50 to 60 people. We are about 2,000 in this camp. We squeeze ourselves into the classes to sleep,” he said.

    Speaking about the toilets and the hygienic situation in the camp, Zakari said: “The conveniences are grossly inadequate. You have gone there yourself, you can see it. We have no choice but to use it. But the government tried to build additional bathrooms for us but it is not still adequate.”

    Speaking about the food, Aliyu Ibrahim said they just had to eat the food served them to keep body and soul together. “The food is just being taken to quench hunger. It is not the kind of food we are used to. It does not contain what is needed for a balanced diet.”

    What we want – IDPs

    The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Kuta have called on well-meaning individuals to speak to the government to provide adequate security that would enable them  return  to their villages.

    They said they were tired of living in the camp for five months, stressing that they want to return to their villages.

    “We want people to talk to the government so that government can take action with regards to insecurity because it seems our voices can no longer be heard”, Zakari Galadima said.

    Aliyu added: “Government should provide security that would enable us  return to our communities. Although there is security here, we prefer our homes. Please tell them to take us backhome”.

    The IDPs are lying; they never spent a day without food – NSEMA

    However, the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) saddled with the responsibility of taking care of emergency situations told The Nation that the people were lying about staying without food for a week.

    The Public Relations Officer of NSEMA, Hussein Ibrahim, said when the IDPs complained that their food was about to finish, the agency provided food for them the next day.

    “No IDP camp in Niger State has enjoyed the privilege  Kuta enjoys. The day they informed us that their food had finished, the next day, we took food to them.

    “We also went there with a committee that was set up by the government to take their inventory so that the government will be able to provide what will enable them to relocate back to their places.”

    Our Problem with the IDPs

    Ibrahim explained that the IDPs have refused to leave the camp despite the fact that there are no more crises in their communities stressing that they are busy enjoying government food and do not want to leave the camp.

    “The problem we are facing at Kuta is the problem of when a government opens a camp for a longer period of time. These people have been enjoying free food and because the planting season is gone, they do not have anything to do at home, that is why they prefer to stay in the camp than staying at home for the government to continue giving them food.

    “There have been suggestions that we close the camp but the Governor, being someone who knows the pain they are going through asked us to let them remain in the camp even when the bandits’ problem is over. He feels staying in the camp would enable them to overcome the trauma they have been through.

    “For more than a month now, the bandits’ activities have been reduced with the state government using both military and local vigilante. It is the governor that said we should allow them to stay so that their tension and trauma would reduce.

    “Most of them are still in the camp just to have this free food. If you go there now, you will see a few people but when you take food there, a whole lot of them will come out to take the food and enjoy it.

    “Government has set up a committee in place in conjunction with NSEMA to take them back to their communities and provide little stipends for them to go back to their places and ensure that they have vigilantes who will guard them until when things normalize in their village because some of them are still afraid.

    On the poor sleeping arrangements

    The NSEMA PRO explained that there were beddings when the IDPs arrived camp but pointed out that those who have left the camp to their villages, left with the beddings and utensils and no one made moves to stop them from taking these items with them.

    “We provided them with beddings but each IDPs that come and return to their village return with these beddings. If a community is sacked by bandits today, they stay in the camp for some weeks and if their environment is stable, they go back and if they go back, they move with everything we provide them with and make us start afresh when another community comes. That has been the problem that we have been facing.

    “These ones in camp now were not attacker by bandits, they fled because their neighboring communities were attacked but we are looking at how we will return them back to their villages and a committee is being constituted to that effect.”

    The Youths of Shiroro local government area said that the relief materials given to IDPs Camp are not a privilege adding that It is a right by virtue of government’s failure to live up to its responsibility of protecting lives and properties.

    The Youths blamed the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) for not proactive enough to know when the next supply is due until the stocked food is exhausted pointing that this is an indictment that the agency is not up to its billing.

    When told of the PRO’s comment, one of the Youths who is one of the Co-Convener of Concerned Shiroro Youths, Bello Ibrahim said, “If Mr. Hussaini believes the Camp has been opened for too long, we challenge him to lead a convoy that will convey the displaced persons back to their communities, and we pledge to pay his allowances and support him with his upkeep logistics for a month in those communities.

    “The ignorant Hussaini doesn’t know the history of Shiroro people. We are so hard working, particularly in food production that we export beyond the shores of Nigeria.

    “Shiroro people gift food item to their visitors beyond what their horses and cars can convey.”

    Speaking about the state of the camp, Ibrahim stated that none of the IDPs wish to remain in the camp as it is currently inhabitable for people to live in.

    “Nobody desires to remain in that filthy and uninhabitable Camp. Our people are more than eager to return to their homes. Safe for circumstances, the IDPs Camp is at best habitable for domestic animals. ”

    The Youths further berated the Governor for not going to visit the people in the camp adding that his action shows he is not feeling the pains of the people.

    “The governor doesn’t know the pains our people are going through, he can only imagine it by virtue of reports he receives. The governor was practically on ground during electioneering to canvass for votes in Kuta. Shiroro Local Government was second to Rafi Local Government in terms of number of votes for Governor Abubakar Sani Bello.

    “Unfortunately, despite our numerous outcries the governor has not found it worthy to personally visit and sympathize with the displaced. And we are by his actions compelled to ask, if Kuta IDPs Camp was a political Ward/Unit that will determine his victory at the polls, will he look the other way or send his deputy to campaign?

    “It is the zenith of insensitivity and insincerity for anyone to sit in the comfort of his office and opine that insecurity is over.”

    The youths have called on the state government to make the IDPs Camp more habitable by providing the necessary facilities.

    However, the Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) has said that because the State Government is concerned about the issue of insecurity affecting the people in Shiroro Local Government area just as in other areas of the state where bandits have been terrorising, the state government has make concerted efforts towards ensuring that the affected communities receive adequate care and attention.

    He reiterated the commitment of the Agency to ameliorate their sufferings through all necessary means.

  • Lagos converts Stadium to isolation centre

    Lagos converts Stadium to isolation centre

    Precious Igbonwelundu

     

    THE Lagos State Government is setting up a makeshift isolation centre at the Onikan Stadium, it was learnt on Thursday.

    It was observed that work was ongoing at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium (formerly Onikan Stadium), with tents being mounted on the pitch.

    The Nation gathered that the centre might be ready for use in a few days, with others planned for Badagry, Ikorodu, Epe and Ikeja.

    Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, confirmed the development.

    This is as the police expressed satisfaction with residents’ compliance with social distancing and market closure.

    Police Commissioner Hakeem Odumosu, who led members of his team on inspection across the state, said all markets were completely closed save for those selling essential commodities.

    Police spokesman Bala Elkana, added: “The CP, however, noticed that passengers sat side by side in buses without recourse to social distancing guidelines.

    “He advised motorists to put two passengers per row instead of the usual four, in other to avoid body contacts. “The Commissioner of Police used the medium to appreciate the good people of Lagos State for their patriotism in obeying the safety regulations put in place by Government.

  • World Bank plans $160b relief package

    World Bank plans $160b relief package

    Collins Nweze

     

    THE World Bank is finalising a package of coronavirus relief valued at up to $160 billion over the next 15 months. Its President David Malpass, said on Thursday.

    Malpass said in a statement after a G20 leaders call on Thursday.

    “The goals are to shorten the time to recovery, create conditions for growth, support small and medium enterprises, and help protect the poor and vulnerable,” he said.

    He added that the health crisis hit close to home, as former World Bank U.S. Executive Director Carole Brookins has died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

    The World Bank earlier this month approved 14 billion dollars in loans and grants to bolster coronavirus medical responses, an amount that is included in the 160 billion dollars.

    Malpass said the bank now has new COVID-19-related projects underway in 56 countries and is encouraging other multilateral development banks to co-finance follow-up tranches.

    World Bank Group entities are restructuring existing projects in 24 countries to direct funds to the health emergency.

    “I’m particularly concerned about poor, densely populated countries such as India, where weak health systems need massively scalable investments in human capital, supplies and infrastructure,” Malpass said.

    “We are working hard to provide support through our public and private sector tools.

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    The International Finance Corp, the World Bank’s private sector arm, is working on new investments in 300 companies and is extending trade finance and working capital lines of credit, he added.

    Malpass and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Wednesday urged bilateral creditors to extend debt relief to help the poorest countries deal with the pandemic.

    Also on Thursday, leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies (G20) promised to inject more than 5 trillion dollars into the global economy, as part of their coordinated response to the coronavirus pandemic.

    “We are injecting more than 5 trillion dollars into the global economy, as part of targeted fiscal policy, economic measures, and guarantee schemes to counteract the social.

    “Others are economic and financial impacts of the pandemic,” read the statement released after the conclusion of the virtual meeting led by Saudi Arabia.

    Finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 countries will coordinate and work closely with international organisations to develop and deliver “appropriate international financial assistance.”

    The leaders also plan to expand manufacturing capacity to meet the increasing needs for medical supplies amid the novel coronavirus outbreak

  • CBN, private sector to raise N120b

    CBN, private sector to raise N120b

     Collins Nweze

     

    A N120 billion funding was on Thursday announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to tackle Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    The fund will be raised by the Nigerian Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 instituted by the CBN on behalf of the Bankers’ Committee and in partnership with the private sector, led by Aliko Dangote Foundation and Access Bank Plc.

    CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, who broke the news in Lagos, also announced members of the Funding Committee who are expected to, through their organisations, contribute at least N1 billion each to the designated account expected to be opened at the apex bank today.

    The fund, which is expected to be raised within the next two weeks, will be deployed to procuring equipment and materials to combat the menace of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

    Emefiele, who spoke to reporters in company with Access Bank Group Managing Director Herbert Wigwe said Nigeria must prepare for the worst.

    He said the steering committee will be chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, who also chairs the Federal Government Committee on Covid-19 Control.

    Other members of the committee will be announced at a later date.

    The committee will be responsible for the initial funding of the effort to contain the spread of COVID-19.

    Other members of the new initiative apart from the CBN governor are: African billionaire Aliko Dangote; Access Bank Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Herbert Wigwe; Jim Ovia; Tony Elumelu; Segun Agbaje; Abdulsamad Rabiu and Femi Otedola.

    According to Emefiele, each member of the committee is to ensure that their institution contribute at least N1 billion to this effort.

    He said the membership of the coalition will be opened to those willing to contribute at least N1 billion to the fund.

    The CBN boss explained that the coalition was created out of the urgent need to combat the unfolding COVID-19 crisis in Nigeria.

    Emefiele said: “The rate at which the virus is spreading is unprecedented and it appears we are fighting our most lethal adversary to date.

    “So far, the Federal Government has made giant strides in the fight but it is clear that the private sector needs to step in and support efforts already being made.”

    He said the apex bank in the last few days began engaging Nigeria compatriot stakeholders in the private sector on how to provide support to the Federal Government in procuring equipment and materials to combat the menace of this unfortunate pandemic in Nigeria.

    Emefiele said that although the number in Nigeria so far stands at 51, the apex bank was concerned that this number may rise exponentially in the next two weeks.

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    The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) put the figure at 65 last night.

    In terms of fatalities, China has had deaths of 3,287, Italy 7,503, USA 1,062, Spain 4,145 and so far one in Nigeria.

    He said the objectives of the coalition are to mobilise private sector thought leadership, mobilise private sector resources, increase general public awareness, education and buy-in and provide direct support to private and public healthcare’s ability to respond to the crisis.

    The coalition is also expected to support government effort. In doing this, the coalition has set up four major committees comprising of steering committee to provide leadership and steer the coalition and committees in procuring all needed funding, equipment and materials for the battle against this pandemic.

    There is also the operational committee which is responsible for project management, logistics, communication and advocacy.

    In the committee are CBN, Aliko Dangote Foundation, Access Bank, Zenith Bank, GTBank, Stanbic IBTC, Ecobank, Fidelity Bank, Unity Bank, Nigerian Breweries Plc.

  • COVID-19 and history of pandemics (1)

    COVID-19 and history of pandemics (1)

    As the world makes frantic efforts to contain the effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), which the World Health Organisation has described as a pandemic, CHINAKA OKORO examines previous pandemics and their economic implications

    When the world seemed to have become less petrified by deadly epidemics as the aftermath of viruses such as HIV/AIDS and Ebola that have been ravaging humanity for some time now, it has, of late, become more disconcerted by a new and equally noxious one.

    At the twilight of 2019, humanity was scared stiff by a new virus called Coronavirus (Covid-19) that broke out in Wuhan, one of the Chinese cities.

    Medical experts described the new virus, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared pandemic as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) while the disease associated with it is referred to as COVID-19. It is a type of common virus that infects humans, typically leading to an upper respiratory infection (URI).

    As at yesterday, the number of people infected was 439, 763 in 196 countries while about 19, 744 deaths have been recorded in various countries despite precautionary measures put in place by all countries that have activated their health and security apparatuses.

    Besides, the total number of people infected stands at 306, 940 and those who have recovered are 111, 922 while closed cases stood at 131, 578 people.

    Though the world is making some frenetic efforts to curtail further spread and deaths, certain historical records have shown that the current Coronavirus that is devastating humanity is less terminal than some previous global pandemics when juxtaposed with the rapidity of spread and number of deaths recorded.

    Unarguably, the loss of one individual member of humanity can be devastating. Losing 19, 744, fellow humankind could be more poignant.

    As world health authorities have revealed that the virus could take its complete course, an indication that the pandemic may not go away as soon as we expect and pray, it means that individuals should be more cautious in their lifestyle and even embrace superior personal hygiene principles in the face of the outbreak and beyond.

    Humanity should remain in fervent prayer for God to make a name for Himself by making the current global health challenge not to last further than expected. He intervened when some pandemics ravaged the world in the yesteryear.

    Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia has noted that “throughout history, there have been several pandemics of diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis. One of the most devastating pandemics was the Black Death, which killed an estimated 75–200 million people in the 14th Century. Current pandemics include HIV/AIDS and the 2019 Coronavirus disease.”

    Other notable pandemics include the 1918 to 1920 influenza pandemic otherwise known as the Spanish flu that resulted in dramatic mortality worldwide and the 2009 flu pandemic (H1N1).

    Other epidemic outbreaks in history

    There seems to be a ‘rich’ history of pandemics that had shaken humanity even before our common era (BCE). For instance, some of these outbreaks occurred over 2, 000 years ago. The widespread of these outbreaks and the death tolls qualified them to be classified as pandemics.

    Pundits have postulated that when a disease occurs in greater numbers than expected in a community, region or season, it is considered an outbreak. In addition to human suffering, outbreaks create panic, disrupt the social and economic structure and can impede development in the affected communities. While no one can predict exactly when or where the next epidemic or pandemic will begin, it is expedient that individuals should explore and learn from previous outbreaks.

    Experts have also warned that a global pandemic will halt humanity in the next 20 to 30 years. A cursory look at past epidemics, how they impacted humanity and efforts made to curb them may offer some insight into what humanity had gone through and how it pulled through them.

    Timeline of historical pandemics

    As humans have spread across the world, so have infectious diseases. Even in our modern era, outbreaks are nearly constant. Some of the previous pandemics have outweighed the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) in terms of rapidity in spread and casualties.

    430 B. C.

    In 430 B.C., there was an outbreak of smallpox in Athens, Greece. The disease that is usually caused by the Variola Virus and spreads through skin-to-skin contact or contact with bodily fluids can also be spread through the air.

    The smallpox epidemic killed more than 30,000 people in Athens, thereby reducing the city’s population by at least 20 per cent.

    541 A.D.

    The Plague of Justinian, which began in 541 and continued on and off for nearly 200 years, killed 50 million people in the Middle East, Asia and the Mediterranean basin, according to some estimates. The plague was said to have been caused by bacteria that are spread by rats that were bitten by infected fleas. Could this be the old version of our current Lassa fever?

    1331 to 1353

    Between 1331 and 1353, a deadly epidemic known as Black Death killed an estimated 75 million people worldwide. Eight hundred years after the last outbreak, the plague was said to have returned to Europe. Beginning from Asia, the disease spread to the Mediterranean and Western Europe in 1348 and killed an estimated 20 to 30 million Europeans in six years.

    1334

    What’s known as the Great Plague of London began in China in 1334 and spread along trade routes, wiping out entire towns, according to some historical and pathological authorities. Florence, Italy, lost a third of its 90,000 residents in the first six months. Overall, Europe lost 25 million people. Any repeat of history here?

    1519

    Hernando Cortes, a smallpox epidemic occurred in what is today known as Mexico during which an approximately 25 million people died when it hit the country in 1519. A smallpox epidemic killed between five and eight million of the native population in the following two years.

    1633

    In 1633, settlers from France, Great Britain and the Netherlands were alleged to have “imported” smallpox to Massachusetts USA. It quickly spread to the Native American population, which had up until now been free of this communicable disease. It’s unclear how many were killed by the smallpox epidemic, though historians estimate some 20 million people may have died after the Europeans landed. Could this inform President Trump’s sweeping ban on most countries in Europe from entering America in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak?

    1793

    Philadelphia (USA) was struck with a Yellow Fever epidemic in 1793 during which a 10th of the city’s 45,000 people died.

    1860

    The Modern Plague began in the 1860s and killed more than 12 million people in China, India and Hong Kong. It wasn’t until the 1890s that people figured out how the bacterial infection was being spread and a vaccine was developed as a remedy for it.

    1901

    A smallpox epidemic in Boston infected 1,500 people in 1901. There were 270 reported deaths.

    1910

    The largest plague outbreak in the 20th Century occurred in Manchuria between 1910 and 1911. Approximately 60,000 people died. The plague still occasionally causes smaller outbreaks in parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

    1918

    The great flu pandemic that occurred between 1918 and 1920 was estimated to have killed between 30 and 50 million people worldwide. Among them were 675,000 Americans. It was called the Spanish Flu even though it didn’t emanate from Spain. It was so-called because Spanish media were at liberty to report the incident because of enormous press freedom the country enjoyed then.

    1952

    In 1952, polio infected nearly 60,000 children in the USA and more than 3,000 of them died. Three years later, vaccination began to prevent communicable disease from reoccurring.

    1984

    In 1984, scientists identified the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV as the cause of the dreaded Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). That same year, the deadly disease killed more than 5,500 people in the United States. At present, more than 35 million people around the world are living with HIV infection, even as records have shown that more than 25 million people have died of AIDS since the first cases were reported.

    2003

    Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, better known as SARS, was first identified in 2003 in China, though the first case was believed to have occurred in November 2002. By July 2003, more than 8,000 cases and 774 deaths had been reported globally.

    2009

    The global H1N1 flu pandemic may have killed as many as 575, 000 people, though only 18,500 deaths were confirmed. The H1N1 virus is a type of swine flu, which is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by the type “A” influenza virus.

    • To be continued