Virologist Warns Against Third Wave of COVID-19 In Nigeria

A Professor of Virology, Oyewale Tomori, has expressed worry over the attitude of Nigerians to the coronavirus pandemic.

Nigeria is just about two months into the second wave of the pandemic, but the virologist is concerned that slipping into the third wave will be dangerous for the people.

Tomori said, “If a third wave comes, I fear it is going to be worse than the second wave,” when he was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday.

“Back to the cases, 75-80 percent of our people are not yet protected. So there are enough people for the virus to go round and multiply,” the professor said.

“I said from the beginning that COVID-19 control is not a government business; it is that of the individual. If I don’t spread it to you, you don’t get it and if you protect yourself from me, then you don’t get it. So, we need each of us to take responsibility.” 

The first case of COVID-19 was reported in Nigeria, February 2020. The country has confirmed a total of 155,657 infections across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

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Data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the government agency responsible for the management of disease outbreak in Nigeria, indicated that 1,544,000 samples have been collected as of March 1, 2021.

During the period, the country recorded its highest single-day figure on January 22, 2021. The figure was 2,314.