A few weeks back, I wrote on the emergence of the threat of Coronavirus. The threat has become real and humanity is reeling from the shocking blows of what started with no perceptible signs of its present pandemic status.
I am sitting at my writing table and my daughters are with me. That is unusual and unexpected because they are in a boarding school and are meant to be in school. I got a call from the school and the tone was urgent. I was being “ordered” to come and pick my kids from school as the state government just ordered a closure of all schools. A week ago, a suggestion of this would have sounded like a joke. But that is the reality of the present times.
I have just given a pep talk at the dinner table because I needed to explain to the family that the closure of schools is not a holiday and I would like to share that with you. The essence of closing down schools and public gatherings can be mistaken for a holiday and that defeats the purpose.
The act of government to put a limitation on physical interaction or what we refer to as Social Distancing, is one effective way of flattening out the exponentially increasing curve of new infections. While we focus on its benefits, we must put the challenges of social isolation in a proper perspective.
Families must constantly watch out for each other in other areas of social and mental health at this time. How do family members exhibiting symptoms of the virus keep a safe distance from each other? I think families should work this out and be mentally prepared for any challenge they may face. It is better to have a plan than to be caught with no plan at all. If an individual cannot be frank with family, then such a fellow is irredeemably unreal.
It is necessary to avoid external contacts for now. Social visits must be cancelled, and only essential external contacts should be allowed. Visits could be virtual by the use of video calls and chat messengers which are no less effective. Children must also be educated on the dangers of visiting community playgrounds. Parents could be more liberal with their kids on video games at this time.Avoid visiting malls in a group. While it is okay to stock up on some essential items, it must be understood that going to the mall is no longer a social event but an essential activity with limited range and attendance. It is quite possible that malls may keep queues outside the facility allowing only a limited number of shoppers at a time inside the buildings but how that can be easily achieved under the scorching Nigerian sun is a complex question.What about over stocking and panic buying? Nigerians are known to approach issues like isolation with some level of aggression, but do you need to buy more than you actually need? My advice, just stock normally, avoid panic buying and leave something for others. We may soon overcome this and over stocked items could become a waste.
We must also understand the mental challenges that comes with isolation. In a country like ours with poor power supply and few distractions in the homes, social distancing could leave many scars. The suspension of football leagues and sporting events is already taking its toll on sports enthusiasts, fans and betting fans/companies. I think this is a time that individuals can engage in other activities and hobbies that had been left fallow. Get a good book to read, study online (there a host of virtual institutions offering free online courses), improve yourself or get a board or card games and bond with family. We must be quick to detect the early signs of depression and be ready to combat it.
We must think of the aftermath. It is evident that economies of nations will take time to adjust to the effects of the pandemic. We must be individually ready to effectively absorb the shock and prevent long lasting economic woes.
Lastly, being at home could also affect activities in the “other room”. Funny? But this also calls for a contingency plan. The Baby Boomer generation after the Second World War is a testimony to how traumatic events like COVID-19 pandemic can affect procreation. No doubt, we might witness a Baby Boom in the post Corona era and we cannot choose to ignore that possibility.
It’s not a holiday friends. It is actually a transfer of the responsibility of containment to the family unit and safety starts from there. We will surely consign COVID-19 to the dust bin but that task starts begins with this understanding.
