The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Travelling

  • Ebola: How to protect yourself during vacation

    Ebola: How to protect yourself during vacation

    Nigerians were less perturbed about the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa until July 20, 2014 when the first case of the deadly virus disease was recorded – no thanks to a Liberian, Patrick Sawyer who brought the disease to Nigeria.

    Sadly, the recent Ebola outbreak has become a worldwide concern. While some may believe the best response is to declare a state of emergency — some countries have already been put on a travel ban list – it’s virtually impossible to completely halt movement. Sometimes you’ve just got to go, and we get that. Which is why it’s important to know how to protect yourself from the virus while moving around. An Online Hotel Booking Portal, Jovago.com has put together some information on how to stay safe from Ebola while on a trip.

    Ebola – What Do We Know?

    • It’s a fast-acting virus which causes a hemorrhagic fever – this means it causes internal and external bleeding – and is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected people or animals (yes, animals)
    • Symptoms of the virus may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure, but most commonly within 8-10 days
    • It has no cure or vaccine, yet
    • People who display early symptoms can only be treated for those symptoms with hopes of recovery
    • Thankfully, Ebola is not airborne and can only be spread by people who are already displaying severe symptoms of the virus – bleeding from the nose or mouth

    The average traveler should be at no risk, but that doesn’t mean one shouldn’t take precautions because you never really know.

    How to Protect Yourself?

    Simple measures can make the biggest difference

    • Always wash your hands with soap and only eat food cooked properly
    • Sanitize your environment and carry a hand sanitizer with you as well; the virus cannot survive disinfectants, direct sunlight, and heat
    • Avoid bodily contact with people on a trip, this one is nearly impossible, but you can try; Remember: Sweat is a bodily fluid
    • Watch what you eat on trips, avoid roadside snacks such as kebabs and pastries as much as you can; Make sure what you eat is prepared under sanitary conditions
    • Visit a health facility anytime you have fever, headache, pain, diarrhea, red eyes rash and vomiting
    • Educate yourself and everyone around you about the virus – You can never know too much and every little bit you do know could be helpful to someone else
    • If you notice symptoms in yourself or someone else, don’t panic and don’t delay; Report to the nearest healthcare facility immediately
    • Do not play with monkeys or baboons
    • Do not eat plums eaten by bats

    Doctors around the world are working on a cure. Meanwhile, be safe. Protect yourself and those around you. Avoid huge crowds of people and don’t go anywhere you don’t need to be. We wish you a nice holiday season. Stay healthy!

    Source: Jovago.com

  • In the wrong connecting flight

    TRAVELLING for many can be interesting and it also brings new opportunities. You can do this by road, rail, and sea or by air. Travelling by air comes with excitement as well as challenges too, but the most important thing is to be sure that the end justifies the means.

    This can either be a direct flight or a connecting flight. Where you are going would definitely determine the kind of flight that you opt for in your journey (physical or emotional). For many, the direct flight is straight forward and you are sure to get to your destination faster than if you had to go with a connecting flight.

    The truth of the matter is that it is not all destinations that can be done with a direct flight. At such moments, you are stuck with a connecting arrangement and you just have to change planes (hearts) to get to the destination.

    Naturally, this heart is going from A to C but the heart (plane) must stop at B to continue the emotional journey to C, which is in between the place of origin and the destination. It is actually a hectic and stressful emotional process that can be stalled with baggage transfer, flight delays, flight cancellation and more. It is, however, worse when you miss the connecting flight or hurriedly find your way into the wrong flight.

    This is the emotional scenario that has played itself out in Amarachi’s life. At a distance, you would think she has everything going for her, but that is far from the real picture. Ever since she met this new guy, her emotional flight got diverted and she is stranded.

    “I got married at the age of 15 years, which was quite early. As the last child in the family, my parents and siblings resisted, saying I was not mature enough.”

    She loved him so much and they came to the realisation that this was her choice. She made up her mind to sink in this emotional boat and they just had to let her be. So, did this Prince Charming disappoint her? No, he didn’t! “I lived with him for about 13 years and we had a wonderful time together. The union produced three wonderful children and he was the best father any child could ask for. During this period, I also went back to school and read Accountancy,” she recalls.

    So, why is this babe raising an emotional alarm? “Just when I thought that my dreams were taking shape, the man died. It was the most traumatic period in my life and it was quite hard getting the pieces together.”

    Luckily, her in-laws were also as kind hearted as her late husband. They extended warmness, and things brought succour her way. It was six years in the emotional wilderness, and loneliness made the journey tortuous. Her mother also did not make things better and she kept urging her to look for another heart to lean on. “You are too young to be a widow; you need someone to support you and make life meaningful once more.”

    Young, restless and extremely attractive, the emotional corridors became very tempting. All kinds of hearts started to intrude and it was tough dodging and avoiding the turbulence of the emotional landscape. Her heart was unstable and it was at this point that a dashing dude sauntered into her life. He was all over her whispering sweet nothings, the type every gal wants to hear.

    Nothing ventured, nothing gain. She yielded and decided to open the doors of her heart widely and wildly for the Romeo to reign. What a relief! For the first few months, that was the ‘melody’ on her fragile lips. He swept her off her feet, making her tipsy all the way. Now that we have found love, what are we gonna do with it?

    It was just too good to be real! Time certainly would tell, but in the interim, this poor heart fell helplessly into the emotional gutter. A few months after, she was pregnant. Did he take to his heels?

    Not yet! “He took me to the village to see his parents and some other relatives. Everybody welcomed me warmly and I was convinced at that stage that it was for real.” She continued: “He rented an apartment and we moved in together but we were not married formally.”

    She gave birth to a baby boy and thought that this would further guarantee her place in the uppermost part of his heart. “Shortly after the baby came, I noticed that his attitude towards me changed.”

    He later relocated to the extreme end of the state in search of another emotional greener pasture(s). “He stopped calling me and refused to answer my calls. I got so worried and a family friend told me how to trace him to his new abode. There I discovered that he was living with a sugar mummy; the woman rented a two-bedroom apartment for him and gave him some money to set up a new business.”

    All hell was let loose. Was this pretty lady going to abandon her emotional property for this ‘moneybag’ or was she ready to recover this asset from the old hag, no matter what? This emotional battlefield is quite complicated and our dear friend is just alone. Nobody wants to align with her and the ‘loot’ is satisfied with his new status. His fickle-minded heart is surely having fun. Only God knows how long this new mistress will be able to sustain him, before he goes hunting for the next victim.ac