Music diva, Seyi Shay has urged the authorities not to concentrate on 2019 novel coronavirus and neglect other killer diseases like malaria and typhoid.
She stated this in a series of tweets on Wednesday, after the nation confirmed five new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infected persons to eight.
The Federal and some State Governments announced a flurry of measures aimed at combating the global pandemic in the country on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Federal Government banned all foreign trips for public and civil servants and imposed a travel ban on migrants from the United States, United Kingdom, China, and 10 other countries.
Also, the Lagos State government banned all religious gatherings with more than 50 people and ordered the closure of all public and private schools. States in the North-West also ordered the closure of all schools.
But Seyi Shay said that while commendable, the urgency with which the authorities took the steps would also be beneficial if adopted for containing malaria, typhoid, and other killer diseases.
According to her, malaria and typhoid are deadlier than coronavirus and should be accorded adequate action.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated, quoting the latest World malaria report released in December 2019, that there were 228 million cases of malaria in 2018 compared to 231 million cases in 2017. The estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 405,000 in 2018, compared with 416, 000 deaths in 2017.
The United States Government said that “malaria is a risk for 97% of Nigeria’s population. … There are an estimated 100 million malaria cases with over 300,000 deaths per year in Nigeria.”
Globally, only 8,983 deaths have been recorded from coronavirus as of Thursday, March 19.
Seyi Shay wrote, “So wait… is corona virus more deadly than malaria? And why cant our government do something about malaria and Typhoid that people seem to be getting every week out here? Or is that just a WHOOOOLE ‘nother story?”
See tweet:
So wait… is corona virus more deadly than malaria? And why cant our government do something about malaria and Typhoid that people seem to be getting every week out here? Or is that just a WHOOOOLE 'nother story??
— Seyi Shay BIGGIRL (@iamseyishay) March 18, 2020
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