Against the backdrop of the impending total lockdown of Bonny Local Government Area by the Rivers State Government, residents of the area say the move was belated and totally unnecessary as majority of those affected by the wave of symptoms suspected to be COVID-19 related have generally recovered.

They rather called on the relevant authorities to investigate the recent plant failure of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and its environmental and health impact on the area and make the findings public, followed by mitigating measures for the impacted areas and persons.

A biomedical technologist, Degual Banigo stated that the viral load of COVID-19 has reduced drastically and therefore no need for total lockdown at this moment.

He noted that “virtually, about 78% of those who complained of drug resistance to malaria and typhoid, loss of sensation of taste and smell, pressure accumulating at the thoracic region, shortness of breath, are all symptoms of COVID-19. But by God’s grace we survived it and have gotten strong antibodies for it”.

He instead suggested that “government and the (COVID-19) taskforce and relevant committees should start educating the populace on how to manage COVID-19 if contracted, while they also stress on COVID-19 prevention rules”. 

Another resident and one time Chief of Staff to the chairman of Bonny LGA, Jonathan Hart appealed to everyone resident in Bonny to abide by the expressed COVID-19 guidelines for their own good.

Highlighting the economic downside of the lockdown, another resident, who simply identified herself as Tonye said that the current nationwide and statewide restriction of movement was having untold economic hardship on people, noting that “I have been home now for over two months without going to work and hence no money”.

“Even the palliatives that were sent by the State Government, Nigeria LNG and other groups were nowhere to be seen. We don’t know who benefitted and who did not. I did not benefit. So, how do we survive if another lockdown is now imposed on Bonny Island?” 

Kristina Reports checks indicate that about a month ago, several residents of the area came down with symptoms of malaria and typhoid, loss of taste and smell, coughing, fever, general body weakness, among others, which caused a spike in outpatient visits to various medical facilities on the island.

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This development caused a panic among doctors and other medical personnel in the area, with a consensus reached among them to engage the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Rivers State Ministry of Health to intervene in that direction.

This led to the visit of an NCDC team to the island community to take samples from volunteers, which results have turned up with some positive results, thus heightening the need to fully set up two isolation centres at the General Hospital, Bonny and at the Nigeria LNG Residential Area in Finima.

Also, there have been incidences of unexplained deaths, some said to be COVID-19 related in different parts of the LGA. So far, about 50 deaths are said to have been recorded in the past one month, many of them undocumented and clandestinely buried.

In a chat with Kristina Reports, an engineer with one of the multinationals in the area, who preferred anonymity, explained that “there was a time when our people in large numbers were crowding the various clinics and medicine shops in the town, with very long queues, trying to get drugs for treatment of the various symptoms they were experiencing”.  

He further disclosed that “at some point, the drugs were exhausted in all the pharmacies and medicine shops and people had to resort to herbal remedies such as drinks from boiled moringer, garlic, bitter leaves, and other herbs. These brought about instant relief for many as some began to regain their taste and smell”. 

He etched his position on the belatedness of the lockdown on the island on these developments, stressing that “if NLNG and the other companies, who were living outside the town, are now being affected by COVID-19, they should focus the lockdown there.”