COVID-19: The Adisa Notes: We have lost time, but these we can do NOW

By Charles Adisa MD
I am afraid, it appears we have lost the opportunity to stop this virus by at least three weeks. If we had closed our borders and used the intervening period to prepare quarantine centers in the all the cities with international Airports, Lagos, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Kano, Abuja etc, we would have mitigated the spread of the disease.
Mandatory quarantine of every single person coming into the country after the period would have been effective.
However, for now, we should close every port of entry, land, sea and air. Prepare for the worst case scenario.
Mobilise the security agencies to ensure compliance especially some religious groups that feel they have some supernatural powers against the disease.
They could post their Pastors and Imams to the Quarantine centers to take care of the infected people. What better way of showing their spiritual prowess.
Cancel all elective procedures in the public hospitals, and restrict services to purely emergencies.
This is an opportunity for Telemedicine in the country.
Train, retrain all care givers on how to protect themselves and provide the PPE materials in adequate numbers.
One key missing area is the role of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and I have raised the issue again with (a relevant high office of the land). They  (NOA) have been quite dormant and lackadaisical about the whole thing.
▪ Adisa, a professor of Surgery and Surgical Oncologist, is with the Abia State University.