Year in review: Seven things COVID-19 made popular in Nigeria in 2020
The virus also made a number of things in the country both necessary and popular as innovative thinking was put to use as a way of coping with the many changes that came to be.
No doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic brought with it a baggage of bad news, claimed lives, destroyed economies, pushed people away from themselves and even changed means of carrying out certain tasks in Nigeria.
The virus also made a number of things in the country both necessary and popular as innovative thinking was put to use as a way of coping with the many changes that came to be.
(1) Lockdown
As a precautionary measure, movement was restricted in Nigeria by government to slow down the rate at which the deadly disease spread and was still spreading.
The lockdown took different forms in various states of the country as some governors imposed total lockdown in schools, offices and markets places, while others only issued orders for partial movement, closely watched by security agents who enforced hygiene protocols.
(2) Social distancing, hand sanitisers and facemasks
Local and international health agencies including the Medical Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) came up with a set of safety guidelines to be followed in relation to healthy lifestyle in order to avoided infection.
Among the prescribed protocols is the compulsory use of facemasks, hand sanitiers and the observance of social distancing in open gatherings that could not be completely avoided.
(3) Teleconferencing: Zoom and Google Meet
Because of the restriction of movement and the attendant difficulty in transportation, private and public organisations turned to the internet as a helping hand to organise and attend crucial meetings virtually.
Thus, media like Zoom and Google Meet became popular, especially due to theircost-effective nature.
(4) NCDC
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), headed by Chikwe Ihekweazu, never used to be a household name until Coronavirus hit the country.
When the virus began to spread across states, Nigerians were forced to follow the daily updates published on Twitter by the agency.
The centre has been the only local source of reliable information on the number of confirmed cases, new infections, deaths, and recoveries from the disease.
(5) COVID-19 Palliatives
To help Nigerians survive the harsh economic effect of the pandemic, the President Buhari-led administration began the initiative of distributing food items and other material aids through state governments.
(6) CACOVID
It is vital to note at this point that the palliatives sent to citizens was made possible not without the support of some private bodies.
The Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) is an establishment set up to assist the federal government in its dogged fight against the disease.
Launched in March 2020, CACOVID has its key players as Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Aliko Dangote and Herbert Wigwe.
(7) COVID-19 loans
Banks and other private organisations gave loans in amounting to millions of naira to help businesses which terribly affected by the pandemic and needed a fresh start.
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