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Following yesterday’s index case of the Covid- 19 disease otherwise known as coronavirus in Lagos, the deadly disease has consumed its first casualty as the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) lost a whooping N308 billion in less than 24 hours of the new. While many had thought the victim would be a human casualty, Nigerians were caught napping at the reality and extent of the fiscal damage the virus could have on the economy.
The situation has however led to palpable fears among some residents and visitors to the state and its environs, just as many people in several parts of the country showed concerns over the situation.
The index case of an Italian has also led to the panic buying of sanitary equipment, such as hand sanitisers and face masks, which has in turn, brought about the scarcity of the products whereby some sellers of the products now exploit the situation to sell at exorbitant prices. Checks by Saturday Telegraph revealed that most residents and visitors to the Centre of Excellence are expressing worries over the situation as they rush to protect themselves and their wards against any unexpected contact with the virus.
The mad rush has however led to an almost embarrassing situation as many people, including bankers, worshippers and motorists now wear protective facemasks to shield themselves form those with symptoms of the virus, including coughing and sneezing.
A visit to some regular markets in Lagos witnessed many traders and motorists refusing to engage in their usual activities due to fears of contacting the disease while others had to put on the mask. Similar situations were seen at few banks visited as well some Mosques, where Muslim faithful had their weekly Juma’at prayers. One of those spoken with had this to say: “I am only protecting myself, since they said the mask will not allow us to inhale others’ cough.
Investors lose N308bn, naira drops on forward market
The impact of the development was already being felt by the country’s financial markets as the Nigerian stock market yesterday suffered a loss of N308 billion or 2.2 per cent in market capitalization. Consequently, the All- Share Index dipped 591 basis points or 2.2 per cent to close at 26,216.46 index points as against 26.808.24 recorded the previous trading session while market capitalisation of equities depreciated by N308 billion from N13.965 trillion the previous day to N13.657 trillion as market sentiment remained on the negative territory.
The market breadth closed negatively, recording only 2 gainers against 41 losers. Almost all the lenders quoted on the banking sub sector of the market recorded considerable loss. However, the health sub sector remained flat except shares of GSK Plc which dropped by 8.70 per cent to close at 4.20 per share. In the same vein, coronavirus panic sent world share markets crashing again yesterday, compounding their worst week since the 2008 global financial crisis and bringing the wipeout in value terms to $5 trillion.
The rout showed no signs of slowing as Europe’s main markets slumped 2-3 percent early on and the ongoing dive for safety sent yields on U.S. government bonds, seen as probably the securest asset in the world, to fresh record lows.
Hopes that the epidemic that started in China would be over in months, and that economic activity would quickly return to normal have been shattered this week as the number of international cases has spiraled.
Bets are now that the Federal Reserve will cut U.S. interest rates as soon as next month and other major central banks will follow to try and nurse economies through the troubles and stave off a global recession. Similarly, the naira came under pressure in the foreign exchange market as traders said the local currency slid past N400/$ on the one-year forward market yesterday. It was priced at 413.55 to the dollar in a year’s time, compared with the N399.73 per dollar it traded at two weeks ago.
Nigeria early on Friday confirmed the first case of coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa, with the Federal government saying that the Italian patient – who had flown in from Milan- a city badly hit by the coronavirus outbreak – on 25 February, is clinically stable, with no serious symptoms, and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos. Analysts say that the spread of the new coronavirus from China has hit global financial markets, and Nigeria’s economy is at risk from the tumbling price of oil, which accounts for 90per cent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings and more than 50% of government revenue.
In fact, the global oil benchmark, Brent Crude, finally slipped below the $50 per barrel mark yesterday, after declining by as much as 3.85%. It was trading at $49.74 per barrel, according to Oilprice.com.
This figure is about $7 lower than Nigeria’s $57 crude oil benchmark in the 2020 budget. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), with the coronavirus outbreak resulting in a partial shutdown of the Chinese economy, global oil demand will witness its first contraction in a decade. Commenting on the likely impact of the development on Nigeria’s economy in a chat with journalists recently, FXTM research analyst, Lukman Otunuga, said the economy’s dependence on oil as its primary source of revenue will continue to make it vulnerable to recession. He said: “Falling oil presents negative consequences for the economy, especially when considering how roughly 90% of export earnings and over 50% of government revenues are from crude exports.
“What is even more alarming is Nigeria’s 2020 budget which has set the benchmark for oil at $57. With Brent and Crude both depreciating over 15% since the start of 2020, it raises tough questions whether Nigeria will meet its oil revenue goal of N2.64 trillion.
“The woes do not end here. Foreign exchange reserves are poised to decline on lower oil which not only complicates the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) efforts to defend the naira but raises the risk of inflation running rampant.
“The toxic combination of lower government revenues, rising consumer prices and weakening local currency is more than enough to threaten Nigeria’s fragile economic recovery,” he added. In a recent report, Fitch Ratings predicted that Nigeria, Ghana, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Zambia, South Africa and Gabon were sub- Saharan African countries that would be impacted heavily by the Coronavirus outbreak.
Uber driver cries out
A driver with ride-hailing company, Uber, who conveyed an Italian, who could have been the victim, has come forward to identify himself. Olugbenga Bodunrin had taken to the micro-blogging site, Twitter, to identify himself after reports emerged that the Lagos State Government has commenced the process of identifying all the persons who had contact with the Italian citizen. Subsequently, the Uber driver had taken to his personal Twitter handle where he shared his details; as well as his phone number.
Bodunrin disclosed that he had a swell time during the trip; chatting and laughing with the Italian passenger. ‘‘I had contact with an Italian citizen the day before yesterday. I am an Uber driver. I picked him at airport. We talked and laughed together. We even dine together”, he said.
Facebook to check false reports
The social networking site, Facebook, has pledged to partner with Federal Government to check the spread of fake news and disinformation in the wake of the outbreak of the Coronavirus in Nigeria. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who announced this at a news briefing in Abuja on Friday, said it’s obvious that the purveyors of fake news will scale up their act to create panic and spread disinformation, following the confirmation of the disease in Nigeria.
“We know that at times like this, purveyors of fake news and disinformation usually ramp up their acts. We are therefore urging Nigerians not to fall for the antics of purveyors of fakes news and disinformation.
“Fortunately, Facebook is working with us in this regard. They have asked Nigerians to report any false or misleading report on Facebook and Instagram pages so they can immediately bring them down.
FG deploys response team
This is coming as the Federal Government said it has deployed rapid response teams to the 36 states and the FCT, to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread across the country. Minister of health, Osagie Ehanire who made this known during a press briefing on Friday in Abuja, instated that the patient was clinically stable with no serious symptoms, noted that he was being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos While revealing that steps were being taken to identify everyone who must have come in contact with the patient since he entered Nigeria, he appealed to Nigerians not to panic even as he gave assurances that the government was prepared in ensuring the virus doesn’t escalate by beefing up its preparedness capabilities and equally deploy all available resources to respond to the case.
“The Federal Ministry of Health, through Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, will continue to provide updates and will initiate all measures required to prevent the spread of any outbreak in Nigeria.
“The multi-sectoral Coronavirus Preparedness Group led by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has immediately activated its national Emergency Operations Centre and will work closely with Lagos State Health authorities to respond to this case and implement firm control measures. “I wish to assure all Nigerians that have we have been beefing up our preparedness capabilities since the first confirmation of cases in China, and we will use all the resources made available by the government to respond to this case”, Enahire said.
Panicked residents besiege pharmacies
Scared residents have been besieging pharmacies since Friday morning when the news of the case spread over the metropolis. A visit by our reporter to a couple of pharmacies within the state gave a hint of how panicked residents are scrambling to get hand sanitisers as a precautionary measure. A woman who wanted to buy the product at a pharmaceutical store in the Sabo area of Ojodu, told this reporter: “I came here to get a hand sanitiser.
It is a precautionary measure. Of course I’m scared just like everyone else.” As this interaction was going on, another customer walked in also asking for hand sanitiser. The woman who equally refused to give her name said she wanted the product for her baby. She said: “My child attends a crèche and I always have a hand sanitiser in her bag. The one I have is almost finished, so I wanted to get another one for her.
My seeking to buy the product has nothing to do with the coronavirus; it has been my practice to have it handy at all times. The pharmacy attendant who identified herself simply as Stella said that almost 100 people had been to the pharmacy asking for hand sanitisers and face masks. “We’ve had up to 100 people asking for hand sanitisers and face mask since morning. Unfortunately, we don’t have the products right now.
But we’ve got in touch with our dealer to get them for us. The number of people asking for them is huge,” she said. The story was the same at another Pharmacy within the Sabo area. “We have run out of stock. All the hand sanitisers had been bought. We are just now making arrangements to bring in more of the products,” the pharmacist who also would not volunteer her name said.
Sanwo-Olu allays fears
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has allayed the fears of Lagosians over the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus in the state, saying tracking mechanisms have been activated to identify possible contacts and place the two hotels where the infected patient lodged on arrival in both Lagos and Ogun states under surveillance and necessary tests. The governor said that a number of staff in the company where he was working in Ogun State were under surveillance, assuring residents that the government had put necessary measures in place to tackle the situation. Speaking at a press conference on the index case of coronavirus in the state, Sanwo- Olu said the government had commenced contact tracing of those who had connections with the patient that developed the symptoms in Ogun State, where he had a business meeting on Tuesday.
Sanwo-Olu explained that the patient arrived Lagos from Milan, Italy, on Monday, without symptoms, but was later referred to Lagos after exhibiting the signs and was first treated at the company’s facilities, in Ogun State. According to the governor, there are various levels of escalation, adding that the state is constantly in touch with the National Centre for Disease Control, the Federal Government and all other stakeholders while surveillance, monitoring and containment will be intensified.
The governor, however, urged the residents not to panic, saying that the patient, who is currently quarantined, is in stable condition and undergoing a molecular test to really confirm if he is positive to COVID 19.
The governor said tracking mechanisms have been activated with the support of relevant authorities to identify possible contacts with the patients, while a number of staff in the company where he is working in Ogun State and the two hotels where he lodged on arrival in both states were under surveillance and required tests. He said: “We had a traveller that started his journey from Milan on Monday, 24th, he transmitted through Istanbul through a Turkish airline and arrived in Lagos on Tuesday night, and spent the night in an hotel near the airport and on Tuesday morning, he moved on to his business in Ogun State, a corporate entity. “He carried it out his business within Ogun state within the confines of the company on Tuesday and Wednesday and spent the night in their accommodation, company’s Guest House. By the afternoon, he started to develop symptoms of high fever and body pains.
Ogun quarantines 28 persons, shut cement factory
As part of proactive steps to mitigate the emergency, no fewer than 28 persons have been quarantined in Ogun State following the outbreak of coronavirus. Addressing a press conference at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the state governor, Dapo Abiodun said affected persons were in contact with the 44-year-old Italian whose identity is still being shielded. The governor was joined by the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, and the Special Adviser on Public Communications, Hon. Remmy Hazzan. This is coming as Lafarge Africa Plc confirmed that the Italian, who is the first case of coronavirus in Nigeria, visited its plant in Ewekoro, Ogun state. Folashade Ambrose- Medebem, a spokesperson of the company, disclosed this in a statement on Friday. She said all those who had direct contact with the Italian whose identity was not stated, have been identified. Saturday Telegraph gathered that the persons, who had been identified through contact tracing, will be in isolation for the next 14 days. According to the governor, the company where the Italian had visited in Ewekoro had been shut down while two isolation centres had been set up within its premises. He said: “The information we have so far is that the particular company in question has practically shut down. They have set up two isolation centres within the company. They have identified all those that have been in contact with this index, totaling about 28 thus far and all those 28 people have been quarantined. “They are looking and interviewing those contacts to find out who they also have been in contact with so that they can ensure that these other people are also quarantined. On our part in the state, we are not leaving any stone unturned. We have distributed a lot of items all the way to our local government and ward primary healthcare centres. “We have given gloves, masks and protective gears. We have stopped our advocacy so that people understand this virus for what it is and how to identify the symptoms.” Abiodun stated that part of the measures taken to contain the spread of the virus was to establish disease surveillance centres in all the 20 local government areas of the state. He also explained that the state was working with the Federal Ministry of Health and Lagos State government to ensure the upgrade of its isolation centre at Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu into a biosecurity centre. The governor said the upgrade was necessary in view of the time it would take the state to convey test samples of any suspected case from Ogun to the bio-security centre in Lagos. “We have decided that the isolation unit that we had already set up be stepped to a bio-security centre. To that extent, I have been in touch with both ministers of health and in touch with my counterpart in Lagos. We jointly decided that we are going to work together to upgrade our isolation centre to a full-fledged bio-security centre,” he added. Abiodun, however, allayed the fears of members of the public over the disease outbreak, saying that his administration was on top of the situation, urging all residents to continue to observe and respect all rules of hygiene. “We don’t want the public to panic. We are on top of the situation. But people should not hesitate to alert any nearest health facility in case they identify anyone with coronavirus symptoms,” he added The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, who spoke at a press conference in Abeokuta, however, allayed the fears of members of the public about the outbreak. Coker stated that there are over 521 primary health centres in the state in addition with general hospitals that have been adequately equipped to contain the situation. She also said the state government had designated emergency hotlines 08188978393 or 08188978392 for members of the public to report any development just as she urged residents to continue to maintain their personal hygiene.
Two quarantined in Oyo released
The government of Oyo State has released two persons, who had been quarantined in the past one month. Saturday Telegraph gathered from some sources in the state Ministry of Health that the two persons, a Nigerian and a Chinese, who tested negative, had been quarantined for coronavirus in the last one month. A source confirmed that the Nigerian arrived from China and showed some symptoms similar to those of coronavirus when the private hospital where he was being treated reported his case. He was immediately quarantined for four days. But he later tested negative to the virus, and was released. “Surveillance is still being carried out on him and his neighbourhood”, the source added.
Lagosians need not fear, says Obasa
Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, on Friday, called for calm among residents of the state following the detection of the first case of Coronavirus brought in by an Italian. Obasa said the need by Lagos residents not to panic over the incident stems from the fact that the state government has always been proactive in relation to safety of lives. According to the Speaker, prior to the confirmation of the first case of Coronavirus in Lagos, the state government had kept its antennae alert and had constantly enlightened the people concerning the health concern. “Even though it is the most populous city in the country, Lagos state has always anticipated and taken steps ahead of events by equipping its medical facilities and making sure disease control centres are up-to-date with issues related to their field. This is why residents of the state should remain calm at this time. “I can assure you that the executive arm of government is not relaxed and will continue with its concerted efforts to nip this concern in the bud. “Be assured also that the legislative arm of the state government will do all within its powers to help the executive curtail the ailment since, as fortune would have it, we only have one recorded case,” Obasa said in a statement released by his media office.
Agip disowns Italian, debunks closure
Italian super oil major, Eni otherwise known as Agip, on Friday disowned an Italian citizen who was diagnosed of the dreaded Corona Virus. The company, which states this in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday, also debunked the rumour making the round that one of its offices in Lagos was shut down due to the incident. “The Italian citizen in question does not work for Eni and has not visited any of our offices. All our offices remain operational. Following the breaking of this news, there have been several stories making the rounds on social media that the Italian citizen in question may be an employee of Eni. We would like to state that this is not the case. “The Italian citizen in question does not work for Eni and has not visited any of our offices. All our offices remain operational. Eni remains committed to the health and safety of all its employees, and to maintaining appropriate measures, alongside other conscientious citizens of Nigeria and, indeed, the world, to ensure the effective containment of the corona virus.
Osun inaugurates action committee
Osun State Government has inaugurated a technical committee on the prevention and control of the virus. Inaugurating the 15-man committee, chaired by Dr. Gbenga Adepoju, the Deputy Governor State of Osun, Mr Benedict Alabi, said the committee would coordinate the Response Team of the disease in case of emergency, be responsible for the effective management of confirmed cases, ensure effective surveillance system, and mobilize resources towards prevention and management of the disease. At the inauguration in Oshogbo, the State capital, the Deputy Governor said that the committee would embark on sensitization and enlightenment programs as part of its terms of reference. He hinted that the state is saddled with the responsibility of providing quality health services in the State towards enhancing the standard of living of citizens, as part of Human Health Agenda of the State Government. The Commissioner for Health, State of Osun, Dr Isamotu, in his remark, said that the State Government is collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Health and International organizations to checkmate the scourge of the virus. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, State of Osun, Dr Olasiji Olamiju, said the success recorded in the fight against Lassa fever was a manifestation that the state would succeed in the control of Coronavirus. Olamiju maintained that the task before the committee was to put in place a mechanism for control and management of coronavirus in case of emergency and that the government would continue to be proactive in the prevention of any life-threatening disease in the State.
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