Covid-19 Pandemic Mental Health Effects

April 8, 2020

By: Dr Abdul Jalloh/ Specialist Psychiatrist

The mental health aspect of pandemic outbreaks often goes unrecognized. It largely determines the overall direction of the outcome in terms of morbidity and some cases, mortality. Since we currently have an infectious disease outbreak, such as Covid-19, everyone reacts differently to its attendant stressful situations.

Information overload and in most cases, misinformation during an outbreak through the media and other communication channels result in people feeding on uncertainty, doubts and half-truths. This may manifest in the form of mass panic, especially as measures are being put in place to limit and control the spread of the disease.

Presently, Sierra Leone has confirmed Covid-19 cases. Social distancing, quarantine, isolation and lockdown are measures being prescribed by the Government to limit the potential of the spread of this highly contagious disease into communities.

These public health measures may result in undue anxiety, worry and apprehensiveness. Sierra Leone with her experience of the Ebola Virus Disease in 2014, the announcement of an index Covid-19 case on the 31st March 2020 provoked reactions of unease and in some cases terror in the populace.

The covid-19 outbreak may affect our mental health in several ways. These include:

Fear of the effect of the virus on the health status of the people, especially those with chronic and longstanding illnesses or in people with pre-existing mental conditions.
Intense distress over the health outcomes of loved ones or others whom they may have exposed to the virus.
The resentment that people may feel if they need to go into quarantine as a result of contact with an infected person.
The morbid experience while monitoring oneself or being monitored by others for signs and symptoms of the disease.
Time off from work and the potential loss of income and job security due to travel and work restrictions and a downturn in businesses.
The challenges of securing things one may need, such as groceries and personal care items without contamination.
Concern about being able to care for one’s children or others in one’s care adequately during lockdown/curfews.
Uncertainty or frustration about the duration of this pandemic and about the future.
Loneliness associated with isolation from the world and loved ones during hospitalization.
Anger at the suspected source of exposure to the disease believed to be due to others’ negligence.
Boredom and frustration for not being able to work or engage in regular day-to-day activities.
A desire to use alcohol or drugs as coping mechanisms.

The following are warning signs that an individual’s mental health is getting affected during this crisis period:

Sleeping too little or too much.
Inner restlessness or inability to relax.
Sustained sad mood.
Feelings of hopelessness.
Irritability.
Lack of energy.
Panic reactions.
Poor memory resulting from poor attention and concentration.
Thinking of death or dying most of the time
Excessive use of alcohol and other psychoactive substances.
Changes in appetite, e.g. loss of or increased appetite.
Hearing strange voices/seeing people who are not present.
During social distancing, quarantine, or isolation, one may experience mixed emotions, including a sense of relief, sadness or anger if one tested positive for the virus during confinement. Some people may harbour guilt feelings following fears that friends and loved ones may have contracted the disease from contact with them.

Furthermore, frontline workers (doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, case identifiers, and others) may experience additional stresses during the Covid-19 outbreak. These include:

Stigmatization.
Physical isolation for the sick.
Constant awareness and hypervigilance.
Rigorous and obsessive rehearsals of procedures for prevention.
Long work hours and shifts following increased patient turnouts.
Efforts at keeping up to date with best practices as batteries of information on Covid-19 emerge.
Reduced social support from the community following stigma on frontline workers.
Insufficient personal and protective equipment.
Insufficient information about long-term exposure to individuals infected with Covid-19.
Fear that frontline workers will pass Covid-19 onto their friends and family as a result of their work.

Consequences to the larger population include:

Deterioration of social networks including local economic activities.
Stigmatization of recovering patients might result in rejection by communities.
Possible anger and aggression against the Government and frontline workers.
Mistrust of information provided by the Government and other authorities

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The following measures are recommended to improve your mental health and well-being:

Rest well, provide a nutritious diet for self and family.
Engage in regular exercise and usual hobbies within the limits of social distancing.
Share positive stories of people who have recovered from the pandemic.
Maintain Sleep hygiene- sleep for 7-8 hours per day. Go to bed and wake up at constant times.
Comply with the rules of social distancing but stay connected with family and friends via social media and phone calls.
Establish and maintain a daily routine with periods of work and rest.
Avoid/minimize alcohol consumption and the use of drugs as coping mechanisms.
Avoid/minimize watching, reading or listening to news that provoke fear and anxiety.
Listen to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation announcements and other official updates at a chosen time of the day.
Protect yourself and be supportive of others.
Appreciate the role of healthcare workers during this pandemic.
Call 117 to seek the services of a healthcare worker if you think you have symptoms of Covid-19.
Elderly, pregnant women and those with chronic health conditions should seek professional advice early if they develop any Covid-19 symptoms.

A Letter To African Leaders Concerning The Covid-19 Crisis

April 8, 2020

By Lionel Zevounou, Amy Niang and Ndongo Samba Sylla

The threats that are hanging over the African continent with regards to the spread of COVID-19 demand our individual and collective attention. The situation is critical. Yet this is not about mitigating another ‘African’ humanitarian crisis but to diffuse the potentially damaging effects of a virus that has shaken the global order and put under question the bases of our living-together.

The coronavirus pandemic lays bare that which well-to-do middle classes in African cities have thus far refused to confront. In the past 10 years, various media, intellectuals, politicians and international financial institutions have clung to an idea of an Africa on the move, of Africa as the new frontier of capitalist expansion; an Africa on the path to ‘emerging’ with growth rates that are the envy of northern countries.

Such a representation, repeated at will to the point of becoming a received truth, has been torn apart by a crisis that has not entirely revealed the extent of its destructive potential. At the same time, any prospect of an inclusive multilateralism—ostensibly kept alive by years of treaty-making—is forbidding. The global order is disintegrating before our very eyes, giving way to a vicious geopolitical tussle. The new context of economic war of all against all leaves out countries of the Global South so to speak stranded. Once again we are reminded of their perennial status in the world order in the making: that of docile spectators.

African leaders can and should propose to their societies a new political idea of Africa.

Like a tectonic storm, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to shatter the foundations of states and institutions whose profound failings have been ignored for too long. It is impossible to list these, suffice it to mention chronic under-investment in public health and fundamental research, the mismanagement of public finances, the prioritization of road and airport infrastructures at the expense of human well-being. All of this has in fact been the object of an abundant specialized research, except that it seems to have escaped attention in spheres of governance on the continent. The management of the ongoing crisis constitutes a most glaring evidence of this gap.

Adopting the all-securitarian model of ‘containment’ of northern countries—often without much care to specific contexts—many African countries have imposed a brutal lockdown upon their populations; here and there, violation of curfew measures has been met with police violence. If such containment measures have met the agreement of middle classes shielded from crowded living conditions and having the possibility to work from home, they have proved punitive and disruptive for those whose survival depends on informal activities.

Let’s be clear: we are not advocating an impossible choice between economic security vs. health security but we wish to insist on the necessity for African governments to take into account the chronic precarity that characterizes the majority of their populations. Yet, as a continent that is familiar with pandemic outbreaks, Africa has a head start in the management of large-scale health crises. However, it should gird itself against complacency. Should Africa’s attitude be to passively wait, as usual, for help to come from the global North? This is neither possible nor desirable; to give in to fatalism is to renounce intellectual critique, which in turn inevitably engenders political vacuum across the continent. Here and there, many civil society initiatives are gradually proliferating.

Despite however the great dynamism of individual actors, these initiatives could in no way make up for the chronic unpreparedness and the structural deficiencies that states themselves will have to mitigate.

Rather than sit idle and wait for better fortune, we must endeavor to rethink the basis of our common destiny from our own specific historical and social context and the resources we have. Our belief is that ‘emergency’ cannot, and should not constitute a mode of governance. We must instead be seized by the real urgency, which is to reform public policy, to make them work in favor of African populations and according to African priorities. In short, it is imperative to put forth the value of every human being regardless of status, over and beyond any logic of profit-making, domination or power capture.

African leaders can and should propose to their societies a new political idea of Africa. For this is a question of survival, fundamentally, and not a matter of rhetorical flourish. Serious reflections are needed on the functioning of state institutions, on the function of a state and the place of juridical norms in the distribution and the balancing of power. This is best achieved on the basis of ideas adapted to realities across the continent. The realization of the second wave of our political independence will depend on political creativity as well as our capacity to take charge of our common destiny. Once again, various isolated efforts are already bearing fruit. They deserve to be heeded, debated and amply encouraged.

The challenge for Africa is no less than the restoration of its intellectual freedom and a capacity to create — without which no sovereignty is conceivable. It is to break with the outsourcing of our sovereign prerogatives, to reconnect with local configurations, to break with sterile imitation, to adapt science, technology and research to our context, to elaborate institutions on the basis of our specificities and our resources, to adopt an inclusive governance framework and endogenous development, to create value in Africa in order to reduce our systemic dependence.

Furthermore, Pan-Africanism also needs a new lease of life. It has to be reconciled with its original inspiration following years of shortcomings. If progress on continental integration has been slow, the reason has much to do with an orientation informed by the orthodoxy of market liberalism. In consequence, the coronavirus pandemic reveals the deficit of a collective continental response, both in the health and other sectors. More than ever, we call upon leaders to ponder the necessity to adopt a concerted approach to governance sectors related to public health, fundamental research in all disciplines and to public policy. In the same vein, health has to be conceived as essential public good, the status of health workers needs to be enhanced, hospital infrastructure need to be upgraded to a level that allows everybody, including leaders themselves, to receive adequate treatment in Africa. Failure to implement these reforms would be cataclysmic.

This letter is a small reminder, a reiteration of the obvious: that the African continent must take its destiny back into its own hands. For it is in the most trying moments that new/innovative orientations must be explored and lasting solutions adopted. The present letter is addressed to leaders of all walks of life; to the people of Africa and to all those that are committed to re/thinking the continent. We invite them to seize the opportunity of the coronavirus crisis to joint efforts in rethinking an African state in the service of the well-being of its people, to break with a model of development based on the vicious cycle of indebtedness, to break with the orthodox vision of growth for the sake of growth, and of profit for the sake of profit.

More crucially, it is essential to remember that Africa has sufficient material and human resources to build a shared prosperity on an egalitarian basis and in respect of the dignity of each and everyone. The dearth of political will and the extractive practices of external actors can no longer be used as excuse for inaction. We no longer have a choice: we need a radical change in direction. Now is the time!

About the authors:

Lionel Zevounou (Université Paris Nanterre: lionel.zevounou@parisnanterre.fr), Amy Niang (University of the Witwatersrand: amy.niang@wits.ac.za), Ndongo Samba Sylla (Rosa Luxemburg Foundation: ndongo.sylla@rosalux.org)

Don Bosco Fambul Braces up to Take Care of more Street Kids Affected by Coronavirus

April 8, 2020

By Foday Moriba Conteh

Don Bosco Fambul is one of the country’s leading child-welfare organizations and has been on the forefront of efforts to help rehabilitate street children and reunite them with their families. The organization is directed by Salesian Father Jorge Mario Crisafulli and has a staff of 120 including Salesian social workers who go out to the streets, slums and marketplaces to engage with vulnerable youth and encourage them to join Don Bosco Fambul’s successful program.

The Salesian organization and its staff were on the frontlines of the Ebola epidemic that struck West Africa in 2014. The World Health Organization called it the “largest, most severe and most complex Ebola epidemic” in history. More than 28,000 people were infected, and over 11,000 people died before the international public health emergency ended in June 2016.

Salesian missionaries with Don Bosco Fambul sprung to action mobilizing their staff and providing information about the prevention of Ebola. Salesian missionaries worked with local communities to provide food aid and education about Ebola while disseminating protective clothing and cleaning and disinfecting agents such as chlorine.

In addition, the organization provided 20 mobile hand-washing basins to Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs for use in Freetown. The mobile hand-washing basins were fitted with taps and hygiene-related products. Brother Lothar Wagner, Director of Don Bosco Fambul at the time, noted that the mobile hand-washing basins were placed in strategic locations around Freetown to act as a reminder that good hygiene practices are some of the best methods to prevent the contraction of the Ebola virus.

Don Bosco Fambul, with assistance from the Catholic nongovernmental development organization Manos Unidas of Spain, also transformed a school into a home for 120 boys orphaned by Ebola. This unique care center for orphans on the Don Bosco Fambul campus met the children’s basic needs while providing schooling and education on health and hygiene. Precautions around health and hygiene, including a focus on preventative measures, were extremely stringent since the orphans had all been in contact with people infected by Ebola.

“We feel very close to Spain right now, because we know what it means to be in quarantine, to be afraid to go out on the street, to see people die during the epidemic. We lived with Ebola,” said Fr. Crisafulli.

To date, Sierra Leone only has officially reported a few cases, but Salesian missionaries are concerned because testing hasn’t been widespread. Fr. Crisafulli said, “There are only two places where tests are possible. When people die here it could also be the result of poverty or any number of diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, hepatitis and AIDS. Without testing, we don’t know for sure.”

As a preventive measure, the country’s airport has been closed to international flights, and land borders have also been closed. Public religious celebrations and meetings with more than 100 people are prohibited, and schools have closed down. However, everyone knows that as soon as there is a positive case, quarantine and curfew will be mandatory.

Salesian missionaries ensure that they are prepared for the worst. Fr. Crisafulli added, “If or when an emergency is declared, given that the school will be closed, we will transform it into a care and reception center for 400 street children, obviously with all the necessary precautions toward everyone. We are already in the process of launching an awareness campaign and preparing for the emergency.”

Prevention protocols in the African country were put in place a long time ago. However, there are two needs that concern the Salesians at the moment—having enough food to feed the children during quarantine and having enough cleaning supplies and medicines to deal with the crisis. Salesian missionaries are working within their networks to help prepare as best as possible should the country be quarantined. Their focus is on minors who live, work and sleep on the streets of Freetown. The aim is to accommodate and feed them, as well as provide prevention information, health care, educational and recreational activities.

The UN World Food Program reports that over half of the population in Sierra Leone lives under the national poverty line of approximately $2 per day. According to the 2016 Global Hunger Index, Sierra Leone also faces an alarming level of hunger with nearly 38 percent of children younger than 5 years of age suffering from chronic malnutrition.

Young people face significant challenges in accessing education. With too few teachers and school buildings destroyed in the war, resources are thin and persistently high illiteracy rates mean that an estimated 70 percent of Sierra Leone’s youth are un- or under-employed.

Coronavirus Pandemic is no time for Fiscal Distancing

April 8, 2020

Akinwumi A. Adesina is President of the African Development Bank Group

By Akinwumi A. Adesina

If we do not collectively defeat the coronavirus in Africa, we will not defeat it anywhere else in the world. These are very difficult days, as the world faces one of its worst challenges ever: the novel coronavirus pandemic. And it seems almost no nation is spared. As infection rates rise, so does panic across financial markets, as economies drastically slow down and supply chains are severely disrupted. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. As such, it can no longer be business as usual.

Each day, the situation evolves and requires constant reviews of precautionary measures and strategies. In the midst of all this, we must all worry about the ability of every nation to respond to this crisis. And we must ensure that developing nations are prepared to navigate these uncharted waters fully.

That’s why I support the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ urgent call for special resources for the world’s developing countries.

In the face of this pandemic, we must put lives above resources and health above debt. Why? Because developing economies are the most vulnerable at this time. Our remedies must go beyond simply lending more. We must go the extra mile and provide countries with much-needed and urgent financial relief — and that includes developing countries under sanctions.

According to the independent, global think tank ODI in its report on the impact of economic sanctions, for decades, sanctions have decimated investments in public health care systems in quite a number of countries. Today, the already stretched systems as noted in the 2019 Global Health Security Index will find it difficult to face up to a clear and present danger that now threatens our collective existence.

Only those that are alive can pay back debts  

Sanctions work against economies but not against the virus. If countries that are under sanctions are unable to respond and provide critical care for their citizens or protect them, then the virus will soon “sanction” the world.

In my Yoruba language, there is a saying. “Be careful when you throw stones in the open market. It may hit a member of your family.”

That’s why I also strongly support the call by the UN Secretary-General that debts of low-income countries be suspended in these fast-moving and uncertain times. But I call for even bolder actions, and there are several reasons for doing so.

First, the economies of developing countries, despite years of great progress, remain extremely fragile and ill-equipped to deal with this pandemic. They are more likely to be buried with the heavy fiscal pressure they now face with the coronavirus.

Second, many of the countries in Africa depend on commodities for export earnings. The collapse of oil prices has thrown African economies into distress. According the AFDB’s 2020 Africa Economic Outlook, they simply are not able to meet budgets as planned under pre-coronavirus oil price benchmarks.

The impact has been immediate in the oil and gas sector, as noted in a recent CNN news analysis. In the current environment, we can anticipate an acute shortage of buyers who, for understandable reasons, will reallocate resources to addressing the Covid-19 pandemic. African countries that depend on tourism receipts as a key source of revenue are also in a straight jacket.

Third, while rich countries have resources to spare, evidenced by trillions of dollars in fiscal stimulus, developing countries are hampered with bare-bones resources.

The fact is, if we do not collectively defeat the coronavirus in Africa, we will not defeat it anywhere else in the world. This is an existential challenge that requires all hands to be on deck. Today, more than ever, we must be our brothers and sisters’ keepers.

Around the world, countries at more advanced stages in the outbreak are announcing liquidity relief, debt restructuring, forbearance on loan repayments, relaxation of standard regulations and initiatives.

In the United States, packages of more than $2 trillion have already been announced, in addition to a reduction in Federal Reserve lending rates and liquidity support to keep markets operating. In Europe, the larger economies have announced stimulus measures in excess of 1 trillion Euros. Additionally, even larger packages are expected.

As developed countries put in place programs to compensate workers for lost wages for staying at home for social distancing, another problem has emerged — fiscal distancing.

Think for a moment what this means for Africa 

The African Development Bank estimates that Covid-19 could cost Africa a GDP loss between $22.1 billion, in the base case scenario, and $88.3 billion in the worst case scenario.

This is equivalent to a projected GDP growth contraction of between 0.7 and 2.8 percentage points in 2020. It is even likely that Africa might fall into recession this year if the current situation persists.

The Covid-19 shock will further squeeze fiscal space in the continent as deficits are estimated to widen by 3.5 to 4.9 percentage points, increasing Africa’s financing gap by an additional $110 to $154 billion in 2020.

Our estimates indicate that Africa’s total public debt could increase, under the base case scenario, from $1.86 trillion at the end of 2019 to over $2 trillion in 2020, compared to $1.9 trillion projected in a ‘no pandemic’ scenario. According to a March 2020 Bank report, these figures could reach $2.1 trillion in 2020 under the worst case scenario.

This, therefore, is a time for bold actions. We should temporarily defer the debt owed to multilateral development banks and international financial institutions. This can be done by re-profiling loans to create fiscal space for countries to deal with this crisis.

That means that loan principals due to international financial institutions in 2020 could be deferred. I am calling for temporary forbearance, not forgiveness. What’s good for bilateral and commercial debt must be good for multilateral debt.

That way, we will avoid moral hazards, and rating agencies will be less inclined to penalize any institution on the potential risk to their Preferred Creditor Status.  The focus of the world should now be on helping everyone, as a risk to one is a risk to all.

There is no coronavirus for developed countries and a coronavirus for developing and debt-stressed countries. We are all in this together. Multilateral and bilateral financial institutions must work together with commercial creditors in Africa, especially to defer loan payments and give Africa the fiscal space it needs.

We stand ready to support Africa in the short term and for the long haul. We are ready to deploy up to $50 billion over five years in projects to help with adjustment costs that Africa will face as it deals with the knock-on effects of Covid-19, long after the current storm subsides.

But more support will be needed. Let’s lift all sanctions, for now. Even in wartime, ceasefires are called for humanitarian reasons. In such situations, there is a time to pause for relief materials to reach affected populations. The novel coronavirus is a war against all of us. All lives matter.

For this reason, we must avoid fiscal distancing at this time. A stitch in time will save nine.   Social distancing is imperative now. Fiscal distancing is not.

“Coronavirus Vaccine & Treatment Research have Accelerated at Incredible Speed…” -WHO Director General

April 8, 2020

By Amin Kef Sesay

Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has disclosed that more than 70 countries have joined WHO’s trial to accelerate research on effective treatments.
He said about 20 institutions and companies “are racing to develop a vaccine.”
Tedros said the WHO will be announcing an initiative soon for the accelerated development and equitable distribution of vaccines.

He reiterated that more than 70 countries have joined WHO’s trial to accelerate research on effective treatments and “about 20 institutions and companies are racing to develop a vaccine.” “The viral genome was mapped in early January and shared globally which enabled tests to be developed and vaccine research to start,” Tedros said at a news conference at WHO headquarters in Geneva.

Dr. Mike Ryan, the WHO’s Executive Director for Emergencies Program, said one trial underway will look at prophylaxis in health-care workers to see if there’s evidence of giving lower doses of drugs like hydroxychloroquine that would reduce their risk of becoming infected while treating patients.

Tedros said the WHO will be announcing an initiative soon for the accelerated development and equitable distribution of vaccines.

“We will put together a mechanism and we will appoint senior people from the north and south that will work out the details of how they can accelerate production but at the same time how they can ensure equitable distribution,” he said. “When a vaccine or a medicine is ready, we have to be able to deliver it to all over the world. There should not be a divide between the haves and the have-nots.”

New York State last month began the first large-scale clinical trial looking at hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for the coronavirus after the Food and Drug Administration fast-tracked the approval process.

President Donald Trump has said chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine could be a “game-changer,” even though the drugs have not been put through rigorous clinical trials to fight CV-19, which has infected more than 1 million people worldwide in a little over three months. Trump last month directed the FDA to examine whether the drugs can be used to prevent or treat the coronavirus.

Chloroquine has gained a lot of attention after a small study of 36 COVID-19 patients published March 17 in France found that most patients taking the drug cleared the coronavirus from their system a lot faster than the control group. Adding azithromycin, commonly known as a Z-Pak, to the mix “was significantly more efficient for virus elimination,” the researchers said. A small study in China also found that combining chloroquine with azithromycin was “found to be more potent than chloroquine.”

WHO said early research showed that some drugs “may have an impact” on fighting the coronavirus, but the data are extremely preliminary and more research needs to be done to determine whether the treatments can reliably fight COVID-19.

There is “some preliminary data from non-randomized studies, observational studies that indicate some drugs and some drug cocktails may have an impact,” Ryan said.

“Some of those drugs may impact the length of disease, some may impact the severity of disease and the dosages of those drugs when they’re given to what patient at what stage of the disease has not been standardized,” Ryan said. “We have never had a comparison group where we’ve had a randomized approach to treatment with the drug or not treatment with the drug.”

“So that we’re clear there’s no proven effective therapeutic or drug against COVID-19,” he added.

Worried, Many People Ask… Is There Any Treatment For Corona Virus Disease?

April 8, 2020

By Amin Kef Sesay

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a new coronavirus discovered after an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Scientifically, there isn’t currently a vaccine against developing COVID-19. Antibiotics are also ineffective because COVID-19 is a viral infection and not bacterial.

However, medical researchers are currently working on creating a vaccine specifically for this virus, as well as potential treatments for COVID-19.

The disease is more likely to cause symptoms in older adults and those with underlying health conditions. Most people who develop symptoms of COVID-19 experience: Fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue.

If symptoms are more severe, supportive treatments can only be available in the specialized hospitals that have been identified by the Ministry of Health at 34 Military Hospital and the China-Sierra Leone Friendship Hospital at Jui. This type of treatment may involve:

Fluids to reduce the risk of dehydration
Medication to reduce a fever
Supplemental oxygen in more severe cases
People who have difficulty breathing on their own due to COVID-19 may need a respirator.

What is being done to find an effective treatment?

Vaccines and treatment options for COVID-19 are currently being investigated around the world. There’s some evidence that certain medications may have the potential to be effective with regard to preventing illness or treating the symptoms of COVID-19.

However, researchers need to perform randomized controlled trials in humans before potential vaccines and other treatments become available. This may take several months or longer.

Here are some treatment options that are currently being investigated for protection against SARS-CoV-2 and treatment of COVID-19 symptoms.

Remdesivir – It is an experimental broad-spectrum antiviral drug originally designed to target Ebola. Researchers have found that remdesivir is highly effective at fighting the novel coronavirus in isolated cells.

This treatment is not yet approved in humans, but two clinical trials for this drug have been implemented in China. One clinical trial was recently also approved by the FDA in the United States.

Chloroquine – It is a drug that’s used to fight malaria and autoimmune diseases. It’s been in use for more than 70 years and is considered safe. Researchers have discovered that this drug is effective at fighting the SARS-CoV-2 virus in studies done in test tubes.

At least 10 clinical trials are currently looking at the potential use of chloroquine as an option for combating the novel coronavirus.

Lopinavir and ritonavir – They are sold under the name Kaletra and are designed to treat HIV. In South Korea, a 54-year-old man was given a combination of these two drugs and had a significant reduction in his levels of the coronavirus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there could be benefits to using Kaletra in combination with other drugs.

APN01 – A clinical trial is set to start soon in China to examine the potential of a drug called APN01 to fight the novel coronavirus.

The scientists who first developed APN01 in the early 2000s discovered that a certain protein called ACE2 is involved in SARS infections. This protein also helped protect the lungs from injury due to respiratory distress.

From recent research, it turns out that the 2019 coronavirus, like SARS, also uses the ACE2 protein to infect cells in humans.

The randomized, dual-arm trial will look at the effect of the medication on 24 patients for 1 week. Half of the participants in the trial will receive the APN01 dru, and the other half will be given a placebo. If results are encouraging, larger clinical trials will be done.

Favilavir – China has approved the use of the antiviral drug favilavir to treat symptoms of COVID-19. The drug was initially developed to treat inflammation in the nose and throat.

Although the results of the study haven’t been released yet, the drug has supposedly shown to be effective in treating COVID-19 symptoms in a clinical trial of 70 people.

135 European and other foreigners Evacuated

April 8, 2020

By Theresa Kef Sesay

A special chartered flight from Brussels on the 6^th April 2020 landed at the Lungi international airport in Freetown, carrying vital medicines and medical supplies valued at $130.000. The cargo weighs about 18 tons and contains critical medical products procured by UNICEF on behalf of the country’s Ministry of Health and Sanitation in support of the Government’s Free Health Care Initiative (FHCI).

The Government of Sierra Leone introduced the FHCI in 2010 to allow pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children under five years of age to receive essential treatment and medicines at no cost.

To date, the FHCI has been supported by several donors, including UK Aid, the European Union, USAID and others. The chartered flight also contained a World Health Organisation consignment of 140 litres of glycerol – one of the ingredients needed for producing alcohol-based hand rub, currently not available on the local market, for the prevention of infections.

After unloading its cargo, the specially arranged Brussels flight to Sierra Leone, collected 135 European tourists and foreign expatriates – many of whom were left stranded in Freetown, after the Government of Sierra Leone announced the closure of the country’s airspace to commercial flights.

Vulnerable Homes Receive Food Items from Markmuday, Jimmy B & Two other Artists

April 8, 2020

Chief Executive Officer of Slim Nation, Nelson Idrissa Kargbo, popularly known as Markmuday, Jimmy B and the other Artist during the donation.

By Foday Moriba Conteh

In their quest to help the less privileged in the country, Sierra Leone’s best R&B Pop Star Artist who also doubles as the Chief Executive Officer of Slim Nation, Nelson Idrissa Kargbo, popularly known as Markmuday in collaboration with the Godfather of Sierra Leone Music, “Jimmy B”, Sierra Leone best Afrobeat Artist, Abdul Razak Kanu popularly known Arkman and Trice has on Monday 6^th April, 2020 donated food items worth millions of Leones to various vulnerable homes within the Freetown Municipality.

The donation came prior to the three day lockdown declared by the Government of Sierra Leone in order to curtail the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

In his address, the Chief Executive Officer of Slim Nation-Markmuday, stated that indeed the virus is very deadly and it is on record that we have reported Six cases furthering how they must collectively join hands in complementing the efforts of the Government in its strides towards scaling up the fight against the virus maintaining how it is only by doing so that the common enemy could be defeated.

He noted that as a true Philanthropist he decided to join the Godfather of Sierra Leone Music, Jimmy B and others to undertake the distribution of these food items to vulnerable homes, underscoring that it a well-timed gesture especially at this crucial moment as the country declared a three-Day Lockdown nationwide stating how they are doing so with the strong belief that such could be helpful especially at this decisive moment.

He admonished them to adhere to all the precautionary measures that the Government and its partners have put in place also underscoring that it is only when strict adherence is maintained that we could stay safe.

He stated that the gesture is a clear manifestation that he and his colleagues care for their Fans and even non-fans and that they are determined to stand by the side of the people of this country during good and bad times.

Receiving the items, beneficiaries in the various targeted communities expressed gratitude and appreciation to Chief Executive Officer of Slim Nation-Markmuday and others for the gesture which they described as not only important but a timely intervention.

It is on record that the Chief Executive Officer of Slim Nation-Markmuday has been engaged in various charitable activities; recently supported the Government Free Quality Education Initiative by donating learning materials to school going pupils and also has been supporting the First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Fatima Bio’s ,“Hands off Our Girls Campaign” in the country.

Three-Day Lockdown End With 7 Infected Cases

April 8, 2020

An empty market street in downtown Freetown

By Foday Moriba Conteh

As it was announced by the newly Presidential appointee to Head the National COVID -19 Response Team, (Rtd) Brig Gen. Hassan Kellie Conteh, there will be a three-day nationwide lock down. It commenced on Sunday 5^th April 2020 and ended yesterday the 7^th April 2020. According to him the decision was put in place with the aim of preventing the spread of coronavirus, after two new cases were reported.

As the situation now stands the country has now confirmed seven cases, all within five days. Retired Brigadier Kellie Conteh stated that the lock down was to trace potential contacts they took cognizance of having come in touch with affected persons with the objective of isolating and monitoring them.

He furthered that the lock down was also necessitated to trace and identify all secondary contacts and also place them under surveillance.

The daunting task that the authorities presently have is to improve quarantine conditions and tighten security, after reports of people leaving isolation areas. Prior to the implementation of the lockdown, banks and market places were overflowing with people. Disappointedly, unscrupulous traders seized the opportunity to hike prices of essential commodities.

Government authorities ordered that all businesses, offices and markets have veronica buckets at their entrance to promote hand washing as a precautionary measure. Indeed during the three days the streets were empty as the compliance rate was high

A spectacular thing that caught the attention of the Government and instilled fear in the minds of citizens was that most patients at the main referral centre – the Connaught Hospital – voluntarily discharged themselves with the fright that they would be mixed with coronavirus patients during the lockdown.

Hospital wards were almost empty as patients had been reluctant to be admitted, except those who were critically ill.

Medical practitioners at Ola During Children’s hospital deserted and went into self-isolation, following a second doctor testing positive. “We are all in this together,” National Coordinator Kellie Conteh stated inter alia admonishing citizens to comply with the lockdown.

Pres. Bio Sends Consolation Message to British Prime Minister

April 8, 2020

By Amin Kef Sesay

Since it was reported that the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has proven positive of contracting the coronavirus his health continues to deteriorate. Currently he is said to have been hospitalized. As a way of expressing compassion and empathy with his health situation, President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio on Tuesday 7^th April 2020 sent him a consolation Message of “Speedy Recovery” which reads: “At these difficult times for our countries, our thoughts and prayers for speedy recovery are with you, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, your family and the people of the United Kingdom”

Up to yesterday, the 7^th April 2020, a Senior Cabinet Member, Michael Gove, confirmed that he has been receiving oxygen treatment in an Intensive Care Unit.

The Cabinet Minister, Michael Gove, said that the Prime Minister was “not on a ventilator” but had “received oxygen support.”

He informed that Johnson was “receiving the very best care” at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, after being taken into intensive care at 7 p.m. on Monday.

“And of course, one of the reasons for being in intensive care is to make sure that whatever support the medical team consider to be appropriate can be provided,” Gove said.

Gove later said he was self-isolating at home because a member of his family was showing coronavirus symptoms. Gove said on Twitter that he was not displaying any symptoms and is continuing to work. He’s the latest in a long line of British Government Ministers and advisers to be forced into isolation.

Johnson’s hospitalization has highlighted the lack of a formal line of succession in the UK Government. Johnson, 55, nominated the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, who also holds the title of First Secretary of State, to Deputize for him “where necessary.” But there is no official Deputy recognized by UK law or the country’s largely unwritten constitution.

Few formal powers are invested specifically in the UK Prime Minister and key decisions are taken collectively by the Cabinet or its sub-committees. Many statutory powers are held by individual Secretaries of State. But in recent decades, holders of the UK’s top political office have adopted a more presidential style, and the sweeping nature of the ruling Conservative Party’s most recent election victory was attributed to Johnson’s personal appeal with voters.

“The Prime Minister has a team around him who ensure the work of Government goes on,” Gove revealed. He said Johnson had a “stripped-back diary” last week to make sure he could follow the medical advice of his doctors.

Gove confirmed that Raab was now in charge of seeing through Johnson’s plan to tackle the novel coronavirus. “Dominic [Raab] takes on the responsibilities of chairing the various meetings the PM would’ve chaired but we’re all working together to implement the plan that the PM has set out,” he said.

Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, who chairs the House of Commons defense select committee, tweeted good wishes to Johnson but added: “It is important to have 100% clarity as to where responsibility for UK national security decisions now lies. We must anticipate adversaries attempting to exploit any perceived weakness.”

Johnson was taken to hospital on Sunday evening. At the time, Downing Street said the decision was a precaution because he continued to suffer from a cough and a fever ten days after testing positive for the coronavirus. But his condition deteriorated on Monday, Downing Street said, and he was moved to the intensive care unit at St. Thomas’ Hospital.

The coroavirus has hit the top of the British Government hard. The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, said on March 27 that he had the virus, on the same day that the Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty, announced that he would begin self-isolation after displaying Covid-19 symptoms. Neil Ferguson, a top UK Government adviser on the virus, said on March 18 he believed he had been infected. Various other senior Government Ministers and advisers have been forced to self-isolate.

Boris Johnson in intensive care with Covid-19

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