YOU OR CORONA VIRUS: WHO IS REALLY THE ENEMY?

Hello people,

I hope y'all are still staying safe and observing the precautionary measures strictly. You know the fight ain't over yet.

Our common enemy is the Corona virus and we must do all we can to win this fight. I know that at this point it has become a very tough one seeing that Mr. President has eased the lock down in certain states of Nigeria including Lagos.

The instruction is that we should adhere to certain measures like maintaining social distance, frequently washing our hands with soap and water, using alcohol based hand sanitizer and protecting our nose and mouth with a face mask most importantly.

I learnt that the Lagos State government has directed the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to ensure that passengers always have their face masks on before allowing them to board their vehicles.

They were also mandated to carry less passengers to avoid body contact as much as possible. Tricycles which initially took 4 passengers now take just 2 passengers per trip.

A welcomed decision if you ask me, but I do not think that these bus drivers and tricycle riders were given proper orientation as to the importance of these measures as well as the implication if taken for granted.

Today I went to the office briefly, naturally I equipped myself with my face mask, hand sanitizer and of course the blood of Jesus. Please don't laugh because that's the main thing that has been protecting us all this while.

Do you agree? If No, please let me know what you think in the comment section. Now read my reason for saying this.

My journey outdoor got me thinking, who exactly is this enemy we are fighting, ourselves or the Corona Virus? I'll tell you why I said so.

First I noticed that a lot of people were wearing their face masks in very funny ways. Some covered only their nose, others only their mouth while some just turned it into a chin mask since it was only covering their chin.

There were also those who kept it safely in their bags and only brought it out when they sighted a law enforcement officer or wanted to board a bus as it is now a compulsory requirement for boarding. God safe us all!

Wrong way of wearing face mask

I boarded a tricycle with a male passenger and along the way he said he wanted to alight. The rider stopped for him and a female passenger who was standing at the same stop boarded, when asked for her fare she pointed the man who had just alighted.

The rider was expecting him to pay 200 naira for himself and the woman who had a child with her, obviously she had the intention of carrying the child on her lap.

Surprisingly, the man gave him 100 naira saying that it was for himself and the woman, according to him, "Na my wife, she dey help me complete the journey."

This got the rider very upset because he had earlier stated that every drop was a 100 naira. This led to a heated argument between the two men and before I could say Jack! The rider jumped down from the tricycle and the grabbed the man by his cloth insisting that he must be paid 200 naira for the couple or 100 naira for only the man's trip.

In the twinkle of an eye, the 2 men flung their face masks, like it was obstructing them from carrying out their intention, and started fighting.

Abasi Mbong! 

I saw Corona with my 2 'coro coro' eyes and I was like, Ayemi temi!

Do these men really know the implication of what they are doing?

It wasn't funny o. Some other random guys that stay at the bus stop all came out to separate these men and there were exchange of words, argument, all with unmasked faces! The exchange of body fluids was visible to the blind at this point.

I didn't even wait for the fight to end before I found my 'square root' and alighted the tricycle. I boarded a mini bus after that and I was a bit pleased at the sitting arrangement since passengers were not in close contact, as expected they all had their face masks on.

All of a sudden a passenger at the back took off her face mask and released a very loud body shuddering sneeze!

Jesus!!!

I flew out of the bus with the speed of light and I was asking myself, did they send all these people or have my Village People finally located me?

The way people are going about this ease of lock down with reckless abandon and nonchalance is bewildering. Is it difficult to observe simple health measure?

A friend told me that some bike riders and bus conductors now carry extra face masks for their passengers because they know that they will be arrested if their passengers don't have it.

So they offer it to the passenger before he/she boards and collect it when they alight afterwards, then hand it over to the next passenger.

Hey God! Who did this to us? Are we really fighting the virus or we are the virus ourselves?

Please wherever you find yourself, do as much as you can to enlighten those around you about these measures and how important it is to adhere them uncompromisingly. We owe them this duty. That is how we can beat this pandemic together.

So are you still locked down at home or have you resumed work? I would love to hear your experience. How are you holding up?

Do well to stay positive this period and stay safe most importantly.

The Tory Teller loves you and is hopeful at this situation.

#thistooshallpass#
#weshallovercome#


Photo credit: The Guardian
                      The New York Times

© Onyinye Udeh