By Chinaka Okoro

On Monday, June 29, the Federal Government extended the second phase of the eased lockdown by four weeks which took effect from June 30 to July 27. The ban on interstate travel was also lifted. Nevertheless, the movement will be outside curfew hours and was effective from July 1.

Mixed reactions have continued to trail the ease of the second phase of the lockdown. While some applauded the move, others question the rationale for such a decision.

The President, Nigeria Infectious Diseases Society, Prof. Ogoina Dimie, could not come to terms with the decision to relax some of the restrictions put in place in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the country is in the community transmission stage in the spread of the disease which he said is a dangerous one. He added that active community transmission of the disease will utterly affect people’s socio-economic activities.

He further said the decision to lift the ban on interstate movements was mistimed.

Dimie said: “The lockdown was supposed to ramp up surveillance on people’s health situations and get more prepared for tackling any awkward condition. If the country is at the stage of active community transmission of the disease, is it wise to lift the ban on interstate travels?

“Currently, Nigeria is witnessing a daily upsurge in the Coronavirus crisis as the confirmed cases and deaths continue to rise day-to-day. Cases are confirmed every day from almost the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“As the virus is now at the community transmission stage, it may become taxing to handle the consequent crises that may result therefrom if the rate at which the disease spreads is not reduced quickly.”

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Demie expressed concern over what he called secondary transmission which results from two persons using the same face mask.

“When two persons use the same face mask, there is the tendency of transmission,” he said.

He revealed that “operators of commercial vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles provide extra face masks which they give to their passengers who do not have in order to avoid being arrested by law enforcement agents. After use by the passenger(s), the driver collects the face mask from him or her and would give it to another passenger to use in different times. This is a sure way of person-to-person transmission of the disease.”

For Mr Victor Olabode Ibiloye, an insurance broker, the government took a proactive measure toward ensuring that the economy is gradually reopened as well as ensuring that the fight against the pandemic is sustained.

He maintained that “government’s decision to open interstate borders would create more opportunities for individuals to provide goods and services across the states. This will further boost the economy that has already been affected by the lockdown.”

Mr. Ibiloye urged the government to continue to show more commitment to the fight against the disease in order to save the lives of the citizens.

Chief Ikeotuonye Osuagwu, an Owerri-based building contractor, said the extension of the lockdown by another four weeks will further worsen the current economic situation as it affects the poor in Nigeria.

Osuagwu said: “Though the intention of the government is germane in terms of saving the people from the effects of the Coronavirus, the government should take cognisance of the economic situation of the masses.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns, business activities have been at receding tide. It is when someone has money that such a person will think of erecting a building. But in a situation of lack, no one will think of building and this will affect those in the construction industry.”

On lifting of the interstate travel ban, Chief Osuagwu stated that it was thoughtful of the government to lift the ban to enable traders and service providers to resume business again. This, he said, will further reboot up the economy.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Victory Cosmetics Limited, Ikotun Lagos, Mr Victor Achusi, expressed worry over the extension of the second phase of the ease of the lockdown.

He noted that Nigerians had expected that after the last lockdown, the Federal Government would have announced comprehensive ease of the lockdown to ameliorate people’s sufferings.

Mr. Achusi maintained that traders no longer meet up their financial obligations due to lack of patronage.

He said: “Many of us who depend on customers’ patronage in order to meet some of our financial obligations are no longer breaking even. As we no longer go to the market every day, our source of income has dwindled.”

Achusi expressed scepticism over the lifting of the ban on interstate travel. He argued that the decision would introduce or increase virus cases in rural areas. He maintained that health authorities were witnessing an increased number of virus cases despite the restriction of interstate movements. With the lift on the interstate movements, he said, the community transmission of the virus would escalate.

He said: “Government shouldn’t have lifted the ban on interstate movements until it is convinced that the spread of the virus has reduced as would be indicated by less number of cases recorded daily.

“The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announces an increased number of cases every day. One would have thought that with the lockdown, especially the ban on interstate movements, the number of cases would reduce. Now that people can move from one state to another, community transmission of the virus would increase, particularly when people travel from states that have been described as epicentres of the disease to other states that record fewer cases of the disease.”