This is an important Public Service broadcast from Office of the Prime Minister of the Biafra Government in Exile (BGIE), regarding the ongoing COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.
Fellow Countrymen and women, Biafrans at home and abroad in the diaspora, You must by now be aware of the havoc the COVID-19 Coronavirus is causing all over the world. As you seek to protect your lives and that of your loved ones, I suppose the key question on your mind is: “what are the facts and how can I protect myself, my family and my community from this disease?”
What is COVID-19?
The newly discovered COVID-19 Coronavirus causes an infectious disease which has killed tens of thousands of people and has caused illness to more than two million people all over the world. It has attacked and killed thousands of people all over Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australia. It attacks and kills people of all races, creed, colour and gender, including Black people and peoples of African descent. It is especially deadly to the elderly and people with underlying health conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease and cancer. It also attacks and kills young people and even children.
It is a fact that the COVID-19 virus is transmitted through contact with someone who is infected with this virus. You can catch it by touching something that a carrier has touched. It is also transmitted from droplets from the mouth or nose of an infected person who is talking whilst sitting or standing close to you.
At present, the common Symptoms of Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease confirmed by the World Health Organization include Fever, sore throat, persistent dry cough, tiredness, difficulty breathing, aches and pains that persist for several days. If you experience one or more of these symptoms, guidelines on what to do will follow shortly.
A person may be Asymptomatic and still pass on the virus to others, this is where a person shows no obvious physical symptoms of COVID-19 but is a carrier of the virus and can still infect others in close proximity or contact.
At the time of this broadcast, There is no confirmed or certified medical treatment for the COVID-19 Coronavirus disease, therefore any local healer, herbalist, “Dibia”, Faith Healer, evangelist, pastor, prophet, Bishop or priest who claims to cure the disease, especially for a fee, special offering or seed is a fraud. There is also no confirmed vaccine or cure developed to protect against the virus or stop the current rate at which it is spreading all over the world. Anyone presenting you with a so-called vaccine is also a fraud, please do not accept it; purchase it or allow it to be administered to you, members of your household, members of your family or members of community.
How will you protect yourself from being infected?
In order to protect yourselves, your families and your communities, we ask that:
1. You maintain Social Distancing by staying at least two meters from any person nearest to you when you go out.
2. You Cover your nose and mouth with a face mask when you are outside your home to protect yourself from droplets from other people. You can purchase masks from local retailers in the areas of Aba, Onitsha, Owerri, Umuahia, Port Harcourt, Enugu and other cities in Biafra land. Best if you can make them yourself in your home so you can have several pieces and change them from time to time as you wash the used one.
3. Practice good respiratory hygiene by covering your mouth when you sneeze or cough, do not talk, breath, sneeze or cough on other people’s faces or allow other people to do same to you.
4. If you experience the need to cough or sneeze in public or in your homes, please cover your mouth with a handkerchief or tissue which should be disposed immediately. Ensure that you wash your hands after coughing or sneezing.
5. You should refrain from social contact like shaking hands or hugging as a form of formal or informal greeting for now.
6. Whenever you come in contact with people or things whilst going about your business, try and avoid touching your face especially your eyes, nose and mouth, which are organs the virus can use as transport into body.
7. Endeavour to wash your hand with soap for at least 20 seconds when you come in contact with people and things outside your home and in public places. You can also use hand sanitizer if this is available to you.
What should you do if you experience symptoms of COVID-19?
1. If you are experiencing slight symptoms of COVID-19, please Isolate yourself by staying at home for a period of 14 days, while at home you can do a few things which may help, like consuming warm herbal beverages or boiling local herbs in a pot of hot water, sitting on a stool next to the pot covered by blanket and breathing the steam from herbs for about 10 minutes, this is what is often called ‘Ogwu Iba’. Please be aware that this is not a cure or medical advice, if you do this two or more times every day for about three days and your symptoms persist or gets worse, please go to your nearest hospital for testing and treatment. The test will show if you have been infected with the virus.
2. If your result is positive for COVID-19, don’t panic. Separate yourself from your family, and community, stay in isolation preferably in a hospital (quarantine) until you recover fully. This way you will not infect members of your family, your friends, relatives and community.
3. Please do not self-medicate by taking medicines that are not prescribed treatment for the Coronavirus disease with the hope of preventing the COVID-19 disease or stopping any of the symptoms you are experiencing.
4. Please do not panic and attack anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 Coronavirus. Most people diagnosed with this disease will recover after one to two weeks. However, observing these changes in our behavior will drastically reduce the chance of passing this disease from one person to another and spreading it in our communities.
Please endeavor to share this broadcast with members of your household, immediate family, your friends, neighbours and community at large, with your co-operation and everyone working together we are bound to succeed in the fight against this pandemic, please note that you will be updated as things develop regarding possible treatment and development of a Vaccine. All information can be found on the government website at www.bgie-gov.net/, may God be with all of you during this perilous times and bless the land and peoples of the Biafra.
