covid-19 | Page 4 of 4

Self-isolating with your partner is probably not how you imagined the third month of 2020 would pan out. But Coronavirus happened — is happening — and we have to do the right thing to stay safe and alive. As much as we love our partners, waking up to them, seeing them every second of the day, working with them from our homes is still remarkably different from anything we’re used to.

With this in mind, we decided to ask seven Nigerians about their experience self-isolating with their partner. From marathon sex to unnecessary arguments, here are the answers we got.

Lola, 28/Female/Recently Married:

So I’m married but the peculiar thing is my husband and I don’t stay together because of work. He comes home every Friday and goes on Monday. Enter the Ronnies and ghen ghen, everything changed. He’s been home since last week Thursday and one thing I know is a baby is going to come out of this thing even though baby wasn’t on my vision board this 2020.

Secondly, I don’t know why I never noticed he’s a three meal a day man. He doesn’t miss any. Luckily he’s self sufficient and gets his breakfast himself while I like to spend the early parts of my day working. But I’m worried about the food. What will happen when it finishes now. I shopped based on my style of 0 – 1 – 0.5 One weird thing for me is how he likes to write on surfaces. We have a home office yea, and we’ve got whiteboards he uses but Uncle has taken this thing further- his scribbles have taken over the entire surface of our work table. It’s like graffiti on it right now and I’ve been asked (begged) not to clean anything.

The best thing about self-isolating with my partner has been this: for us to have good deep sleep and not get restless because of paranoia (at the beginning, we both couldn’t sleep cos of fear), he gets us to watch old 90s movies late into the night, while getting drunk on scotch and then we proceed to do the thing which the lord has sanctified. Very vigorously I must add. Sleep is sure after but so is the baby thing. One thing I know is after this thing, it’s gonna be harder going back to status quo.

Micheal, 24/Male/In A Relationship – Nine Months

My summary of this experience in one sentence: she’s a little crackhead, I want to throw her away but I can’t because I love her. Let me explain. On night one, we had a fight. She was sleeping and I was working. She then woke up and said I was disturbing her; I left the room for her – I went to the parlour to continue what I was doing. After a while, she came to the parlour and asked why I left her alone, that I wasn’t playing with her — I mean, isn’t it only crackheads that stay stuff like this. So I said, ma, you were asleep. It was only the next day that she realised she was about to come on her period and that was why she was fighting me. Now I’m treating my partner like a baby. A big baby that would just randomly start dancing in front of my computer to distract me.

I admit that I have my own. Self-isolating with your partner teaches you about yourself and your partner. Like me now, I know I don’t have sense like that, but I didn’t know it was bad like that. Sometimes, I’d just randomly spank her when she’s working. It’s not my fault that she’s been dressed like a plumber since our self-isolation began. In all, it’s actually not a new experience. We’ve lived together for stretches at a time and I know there’s nothing I can’t handle. But sha, if you know someone buying crackheads, tell me because I’ll soon put this one up for sale.

Ada, 24/Female/In A Relationship

For me, self-isolating with my partner has been great. We have successfully divided the tasks in the house so both of us know who is doing what and when. She talks to herself while she’s working — I do it too, but I only just realised that that’s how she works. She also checks on me to make sure I’m not overwhelmed with work.

We haven’t had sex yet. I’m horny but she has a lot of work so I’m respecting that. Arguments are same as usual. We play a lot more, teasing each other, making impressions of our cat.
Tope, 22/Female/In A Relationship

After my company granted remote work, I immediately moved in with my partner. We had talked about it prior and we agreed we’d self-isolate together. During the first five days, body was catching us and we did it every chance we got. Things slowed down and became boring from day six and we’ve had three serious arguments for the first time in our relationship since then. I also noticed a few interesting and annoying things about him and he did too. We used to spend weekends together before but they didn’t seem like enough time for us to notice the things we’ve noticed during this isolation.

This entire thing has also given me a glance at what marriage could be like. Since we stopped having sex after doing it like rabbits consecutively for 5 days, he has been asking for it but I’m so drained. This also has given me a glance at why men say they cheat because their wives aren’t giving it to them. It’s all a lot but I’m happy I get to experience all of this with him. I’m certain our relationship will come out of isolation better than it went in. Self-isolating with your partner is a huge test for couples who don’t usually live together.

Tunde, 29/Male/Engaged

We started self-isolating a week ago. It’s also our first time living together. We’ve had our engagement, but haven’t gone to registry. She had to fight her parents to come and stay with me — I mean, we’re technically married, so it’s only right. I was gingered about self-isolating because I had read a foreign article about self-isolating with partners helps the couple.

We weren’t really having sex before now. So I imagine my shock when self-isolation started and I found out that I’m getting married to a sex machine. We start our morning with sex and end our day with sex. I think that’s the only routine we have been able to pull off so far. One time, I started working earlier than usual. She was still sleeping, so I assumed we won’t be having sex on that morning. Lo and behold, aunty came to the parlour and we did it. It was the same thing during the weekend when I got up early to make breakfast. We have the same energy sexually and that’s super good to know. Should I say thank you corona?

Daniella, 25/Female/In A Relationship

Since I started self-isolating with my partner, nothing shocking has happened, fortunately. But who knew he watched so much stuff? He must have watched at least 3 series & all their seasons by now. Also, I do not think he has had to listen to more finance speak in forever. I don’t think he realized how much finance finance stuff I did. Sweetest thing has gotta be yummy breakfast which is totally new.

Mohammed, 36/Male/Married For Almost Six Years

We’ve been married for a while, but apart from vacations, I don’t think we’ve spent a stretch of time together like this before. Self-isolation is good because she can rest and I can help out in ways that I couldn’t be for. I’ve tried things like cooking for the children and getting them ready in the morning while my wife sleeps in.

It’s just the children that are stressing me, if not, I actually like this arrangement. Some of my colleagues are complaining about self-isolating with their partners and I laugh at them. I don’t know what the coming days hold, but I’m optimistic that things will go on like this.

Click here for happy thoughts.
If you self-isolate from Covid-19 in itself is not enough. We are going up against the pettiest contagious virus known to mankind and it is simply not enough to stay in your houses. While you self isolate there’s a list of things that could still make you vulnerable to COVID-19 so do well to avoid them.

Don’t Smoke while you self-isolate from Covid-19

The World Health Organisation recommends that smokers should stay away from their smoking equipment this period. Why? Because you need your lungs in their healthiest shape and your immunity top notch. Smoking compromises on that. So while you self isolate, best to keep the lighters away.

Junk Food

Again on the immunity scores, now is the time to reach for the veggies and fruits as opposed to the junk you probably prefer. Your body needs all the nutrients you can feed it with. You need to stay healthy.

Unverified News Sources

For your own sanity, stay away from any source of incorrect news about COVID-19. How do you know which is false news? Crosscheck with sources like WHO, Worldometer, NCDC and Zikoko (Yes because we cross check with WHO too).

No strange foods while you self isolate please

Because while we are busy fighting an on going pandemic birthed by strange food choices we will very much appreciate it if you do not go on to birth a new one for us.

No visitors please

This is the time for every friend to stay home and enjoy the rent they paid. Just because we are all at home doesn’t mean it is time to start entertaining visitors. Everyone should really stay in their houses.

And don’t forget to wash your hands or use an alcohol based hand sanitizer as often as you can even as you self isolate. If you’re wondering what to do while indoors we got you covered.

Click here for some creative ways to keep busy this period.
I want to start by giving honor to whom honor is due and that’s by thanking the people on the frontline who are risking exposure to this disease. From community pharmacists to doctors, nurses, lab scientists, physiotherapists, radiographers. Everyone that has to come in contact with patients during this crucial period, salute.

If you are a health worker in Nigeria, chances are that you can relate to one or more of this:

1) When you hear “I have a high-grade fever and medicines aren’t working.”

Refer to LUTH!

2) When a patient coughs in the consulting room.

Is this how I die?

3) The required distance for seeing any patient right now.

New arrangement of my consulting room. Make everybody dey their dey pic.twitter.com/mIlpFAOd4D
— Femi (@0baluaye) March 23, 2020

Shout across your complaints.

4) Your reaction when you see people not staying at home.

Am I a joke to you?

5) The look you give when someone enters the Hospital without washing their hands at the entrance.

I didn’t kill my parents so you won’t kill me. Go back.

6) How community Pharmacists collect money these days.

Hope you sha sanitized the money?

7) When you feel yourself breathing funny.

Hot eba PRN.

8) “Come and examine this patient…”

I am not doing.

9) “Ahan, why are you wearing a face mask, doctor self dey sick?”

Respect yourself.

10) When you want to help everyone but you remember that the Hazard fee is N5,000.

Affliction will not rise a second time.

11) You once this whole Corona issue blows over.

Jaapa season.
Covid-19 is one of the biggest things kicking 2020 in the butt. But we’ve decided that we’re going to kick it’s butt back. The first step is having all the right information about this enemy of ours. Take this quiz and find our how well you know the novel coronavirus disease, Covid-19. Pro-tip: Share this with your mum, dad, uncle and aunty.
“A Week in the Life” is a weekly Zikoko series that explores the working-class struggles of Nigerians. It captures the very spirit of what it means to hustle in Nigeria and puts you in the shoes of the subject for a week.

Today’s subject is Joke, a call centre agent at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). She tells us how her life has changed since Coronavirus was first announced and what she looks forward to the most after this is over.

MONDAY:

I stand up from bed by 5 am today. I say “stand up” because it’s not voluntary. I prepare my kids for school, cook their breakfast and pack their lunch boxes. My husband drops the children at school, while I prepare for work. All this happens before 8 am, which is my resumption time.

There was a time I was sure of closing by 4 pm, but since the outbreak of Covid-19, I get off work by 8 pm and I still take work home. I now work round the clock. This means that even when I get home, I still receive messages from people on the night shift asking for help in sieving calls from work. I have to prioritize and ask for further clarification from each caller, before determining whether to escalate the issue to the people on the field or not. So, I get off work physically by 8 pm, but I just replace it with working from home.

Today is a rollercoaster because we are working hard to keep up with the number of calls. My colleague who worked the Sunday shift hasn’t been able to go home because his conscience can’t stand leaving us with such a large workload. So, somehow, he stays to support us and ends up working a 48-hour shift. This would have been strange to us in the past, but we are living in strange times.

When I get home, my husband has cooked for the children and I am thankful for that. I am one of the lucky ones who has a husband who is understanding. During this period, he has been extremely supportive and I don’t know how I would cope if he wasn’t. All I do is prepare stew for the week and he cooks and takes care of the children before I get back from work.

I am too tired to eat. I just want whatever sleep I can get. If I go to bed now, at least when someone at work calls me by 10 pm, I would have gotten 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

TUESDAY:

Every job has its ups and downs. It’s easy to envy other jobs from afar but if they tell you what their job entails, it wouldn’t look so glamorous. I studied Microbiology in university; I was looking for a job relevant to my field of study and that’s why I took this job.

This job gives you a thick skin. In a day, you can get up to 40 calls with people just calling to ask if the number is working. Today, I got a call where the person on the other end of the line was quiet. The person listened to me talk without saying anything. Another person called and said: “So, the line is even working. Una well done.”

Over the years, you learn not to throw stones at the person, to just laugh it off. As part of the customer service training, you learn that you can’t talk back to the person at the other end of the line, and they have a right to their opinion. No matter how annoying. So, I share the “joke” with my colleague and we laugh over it.

WEDNESDAY:

I have barely slept for 3 hours. I have been writing and coordinating reports about the outbreak and possible cases to send to the field agents. There was a time that I could go to sleep by 8:30 pm or 9:00 pm with no worries. Nowadays, I’m always worried that if I fall asleep, I will miss any call that comes in. And calls come in at odd times.

Today, I wake up feeling lethargic. My husband encourages me to get out of bed and to start preparing for work. He has been supportive even though my laptop has literally taken his place for now. He knows that I must show up whether I feel up to it or not…

I try not to think about how long I have to do this. I am just going to take this situation one day at a time for my own sake. Although, I am worried that despite all our efforts and advice at the NCDC, Nigerians will not adhere to instructions and the infection will spread and all this stress will be for nothing.

Today, I received a call that made my day at work. Someone called saying: “God will bless you, I just want to appreciate the work you people are doing for Nigeria.” I thanked the person on behalf of NCDC but the person added: “I am not praying for NCDC, I am praying for you.” This made me happy. At least someone somewhere appreciates what I am doing and my sleepless nights are not in vain.

THURSDAY:

Another thing I have also learned in this job is to separate home personality from work personality. At home, I am a mother, a wife. At work, I am a worker. I give each part its due diligence and that’s why today is painful for me because I know how much I give for each role.

I got a call and in between all the pleasantries and asking how I could be of assistance, the caller goes: “Please, don’t ask me what you can do for me. You and the government are wicked and stupid. I know there is no Coronavirus and you are joining the government to eat money when people are dying of hunger. Thunder fire your mouth.”

The worst part for me was how helpless I was. I could neither cut the call nor respond. I had to calmly sit through the insults until the caller was done.

After the call was over, I went out of the connect centre to the corridor and started to scream. “What sort of rubbish is this? Why would someone be so mean when I am just trying to do my best? Even as I am on the frontline, I am not sure whether I will get this illness or not, yet I still show up to play my part. Why would someone think this is a joke?” I let it all out before returning to the connect center calmer and lighter.

I scream because I can’t take the anger home. Over the years, I have learned to separate both lives if I want to strike a balance. I have little children at home aged 11, 8 and 6 who don’t know better. I don’t want to go back home as a different person from the one that left in the morning. I don’t want to be the person that was all smiles and cracking jokes in the morning and is now blank and edgy after work. If I am always angry and irritable, my children will run away from me once I get home.

FRIDAY:

These days I don’t even think of unwinding. In the past, I would relax by either going to watch a movie, going to visit a friend, or playing with my kids. Even if there was no social distancing, where is the time?

There’s no time to unwind because when I get even small breathing space from work, I am thinking of my family. How to make sure they aren’t affected too much by my current busy schedule. What should I buy in the house? The children, how will they survive this week? I am trying to make things as “normal” as I possibly can.

I don’t even have the time to be afraid because fear can even kill more than the disease. Over time, I have learned that whatever will happen will happen regardless of whether you are afraid or not. All you can do is get as much information as you can on prevention, adhere to it, and trust God.

Also, because of the kind of person that I am, I don’t like things that I do to fail. This means panic comes last to my mind and I just do whatever needs to be done because my job is duty calling. I just know that I won’t always do this forever and there will come a time when I will rest and unwind.

But right now, I just want to go home and take a cold shower.

SATURDAY:

There’s training at work today. We are bringing on more people to help with the call centre effort and managing the numerous calls we receive every day. Before this outbreak, we could conveniently handle the workload, but now, we need more hands so we don’t burn out.

There is a chain of reporting which we follow. The other call centre agents compile their reports to me along with suspected cases who have called in and have been thoroughly vetted based on travel history and symptoms. I then compile and escalate this report to the state epidemiologist. Every state has an epidemiologist who then notifies the Disease Surveillance and Notification Officer at the local government level. This is the person who goes to the house address to verify the claims and then reports to the state epidemiologist who then reports back to the NCDC.

I am still on duty today even after the training and will probably take work home. Thank goodness I don’t have to come in tomorrow.

SUNDAY:

Well, there is no church service today so I can cook for the week. Sundays used to be my day of rest. I could afford to sleep in the afternoon after church. But now, I use it to prepare meals for the week so that my family will not be stranded.

What I most look forward to when this is all over is going on leave for like 2 weeks. Just travelling to a place where all I have to do is sleep, wake, eat and not talk too much. All this talking every day at work is making my throat pain me already; I need to rest.

I’m going to the market to buy ingredients for my meal preparation. I am back to work again tomorrow until when all this blows over. Then I can finally get to rest my throat and my eyes.

Check back every Tuesday by 9 am for more “A Week In The Life Of” goodness, and if you would like to be featured or you know anyone who fits the profile, don’t hesitate to reach out.

While we have your attention, click here to find out everything you need to know about the Hantavirus that just killed a man in China.

Read A Week In The Life of A Coffinmaker here, and A Week In The Life Of A Keke Napep Rider here. Don’t forget to share with a friend!

Reach out to me: hassan@bigcabal.com if you want to be featured on this series.
With the reported cases of Coronavirus rising in Nigeria, it’s time for us to take self-isolation very seriously. So, in a bid to raise awareness while having a bit of fun, we’ve created a quiz that lets you know who you’ll self-isolate with.

Take to find out:
Yesterday, we got information about a new case of Coronavirus in Nigeria. In addition, we also got the decision of the Nigerian Government on Covid-19 thanks to the meeting by the Presidential Task Force On Coronavirus. Part of this decision is a travel ban on countries with more than 1000 reported Covid-19 cases.

Govt. of Nigeria is restricting entry into the country for travellers from: China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Japan, France, Germany, United States of America, Norway, United Kingdom, Netherlands & Switzerland

These are countries with > 1,000 cases domestically
— NCDC (@NCDCgov) March 18, 2020

Today, the Federal Ministry of Health just announced 5 new cases in addition to the previously discovered ones and here’s what we know about the latest development:

@Fmohnigeria has announced 5 new cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria bringing the total number confirmed cases in Nigeria to 8

All 5 cases had a travel history to the UK/USA

We urge Nigerians to remain calm as public health response activities are intensified across the country pic.twitter.com/yoKLHXoxhq
— NCDC (@NCDCgov) March 18, 2020

1) These are totally new cases independent of the previously reported ones.

They had a travel history to some of the banned countries on this list.

2) Risk assessment measures and contact tracing are ongoing.

Contact tracing means tracking everyone the infected person has been in touch with to reduce the risk of these people spreading the virus. Read more about it here.

3) The Nigerian Center For Disease Control will provide continuous updates and advice as they know more.

Don’t panic and don’t spread the wrong information.

So, while we await updates, let’s all remember to take the necessary precautions:
There is so much information out there as regards the Coronavirus in Nigeria that it has become hard to separate truth from fiction.

Misinformation is just as deadly as the virus itself so it’s important we get the facts right.

In the name of promoting healthy practices and all-round baby boy and girl living, we the people of Zikoko spoke to a health care practitioner. This is to help us clarify some of the myths about Coronavirus in Nigeria and put us at ease.

1) Black people can’t get the virus.

With the latest reports coming out of African countries about new cases, everyone is at risk of getting infected. There is currently no proof to show that racial difference protects you against being infected.

2) Saltwater can kill viruses.

Unless you are an ordained priest of the church fighting vampires, you have no business with saltwater. Soap, water, and hand sanitizer are the three musketeers that can fight this infection.

3) Heat not only kills workplace productivity, but it also takes along Covid-19 with it?

The temperature required to kill the virus is so high that it’s not practical for everyday use. It would probably kill other unintended things so it’s better to just stick to plain old hand-washing. Soap and clean water are your best friends.

4) After “God forbid”, will a face mask also protect me?

Yes. Only certain types used by healthcare workers have the capacity to protect you. However, surgical masks currently used by the general public don’t have that capacity. Although, it is advisable for infected people to wear surgical masks to reduce the risk of infecting others.

5) The virus is a propaganda by the West.

The Coronavirus is very real and is not a hoax by any Government to incite fear. It is a worldwide emergency, so please take the necessary precautions during this period.

6) My two capsules of antibiotics can protect me from miss Rona.

This is a viral infection so antibiotics don’t have any effect. What you can do is try to eat healthily, get enough sleep, and generally do activities that improve good health I.e staying hydrated.

Remember to take these preventive measures:

While we wait for more updates, we thought of innovative ways to greet your friends outside of hugging and handshaking. Find out about that here.
What happens when people suddenly lose their jobs due to COVID-19 (thanks, but no thanks 2020) or circumstances beyond their control? For many people in Nigeria, life gets tough. Make that tough because it’s already the ghetto over here.

We got 5 people to share their job hunting chronicles with us, and honestly, the struggle is real!

Read on.

Yetty

It was my first job after school and I was just really grateful that I had a job, even though it was the absolute worst. My boss called me one day and explained that they weren’t making money and so couldn’t sustain the staff strength. He added that since he had been spending his personal money on the company, he wanted to invest in something else and would have to let me go.

This happened in February.

One thing I regret is that I have nothing to show for a year’s work in terms of funds. I didn’t have income insurance. I wasn’t earning much either; had to pay rent in Lagos, feed, and take care of basic stuff. Looking for a job has been stressful. Before losing my job, I was trying to transition into a new career entirely and I’ve been studying and all. But you know how the job market is, they ask for three years of experience for entry-level roles and even internships (all my life, I always thought internships were meant for one to learn and acquire skills). So yeah, it’s been very hard.

Jeph

I was working in this place where I was handling Marketing. Frankly, I loved my colleagues and the impact of our work. The CEO on the other hand, I didn’t like very much. He paid little to no attention to employee welfare and would stress the life out of you. The work hours were terrible and he’d call at ungodly hours. I once resigned and he begged me to stay. He wouldn’t let me go on leave because I was a “key man risk”. He never increased salaries the three years I worked with him.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, I had to work overtime to ensure that the business ran as smoothly as possible. Still, no raise. There was even the risk of a pay cut. One Sunday, I didn’t pick this man’s call because I was asleep. When I did, oga said I was acting stupidly, and that at my age, he was running a business worth ₦22 million so I should stop being irresponsible.

I waited for my salary and I resigned in March last year (2020), but the drama lingered till October. He wanted to punish me with handover like he’d usually do to others and I ignored him. I instead requested for my statutory payments to be made and he ignored me until I sent him an email. They finally responded that they were going to pay up, but then they sent a lawyer to me saying I threatened them and I should come to sign an undertaking. This was about 3 months post-resignation. They also said I obstructed their revenue inflow by not handing over and some other nonsense like that. Then went on to threaten to sue me for $36000 and 4 Million Naira. Thing is, their claims were frivolous and asides from that, I was never given an employment letter and wasn’t bound by any contract terms to follow any set procedures. I sha had my lawyer do the talk with theirs till I never heard from them again. I have sha learnt the importance of knowing the labour laws, work insurance and how to handle employment contracts.

Temi

I resigned o.

I was working for a bunch of companies and one particular day I just typed my resignation letter and sent it the next week to most of them at the same time because I was tired. How would I be having thirteen-hour meetings, and they’ll still schedule a meeting for the next day!? It didn’t make sense to me. I was juggling like 9 companies at the same time including my travel agency thing. It was a lot. I was always tired and never even got much sleep. I’m job hunting, but not totally unemployed. I already found a job in the U.S. Getting it was very difficult and my contract will be over in 4 months. I’m sending my resignation to the remaining companies by the end of the week.

Chuks

I’m out of a job, and it actually hasn’t been easy. Although, I haven’t really been applying for long. Let’s say from the beginning of the year I’ve sent over 20 applications and I haven’t gotten any invites yet. Even when I managed to get invited to one, it sounded like a fraud. I was so tired because it was evident that the guy who put out the advert meant to defraud job seekers.
In addition to this, my mum feels like I don’t want to go get a job, and I’m comfortable staying at home which sucks.
I think it’s due to the fact that I started my own brand and she wants immediate monetary results. I keep telling her that it’s a whole different process, and doesn’t just happen like magic. Parents just see ‘pressing of phone and laptop’ as a waste of time. In my opinion, they need to change their mentality, lol.

Ije

I freelance in Digital Marketing and Brand Strategy. Sometimes, I pitch to brands or wait for them to approach me. I’ve not been on a campaign for like 6 months now, so it’s been really difficult trying to lay my hands-on jobs. The ones I get, sometimes when I reach out to them, they always promise to get back to me but don’t.

Omo. The financial strain has been really terrible, I won’t lie. I don’t get funds from home like that and most times, the only thing I depend on to sustain myself are funds I get from jobs. People hit me up for Social Media Management once in a while, but sometimes something comes up and they’re not able to complete the deal. It has made my finances terrible. Right now, I don’t even think I want to go through the stress of looking for jobs again, I am tired. It’s draining and exhausting. If the jobs come, good because at this point I just feel like all my efforts are fruitless. I don’t know what else to do. In as much as that’s a mood, I can’t just dey. I’ll still pitch to brands and companies even if I said I won’t. It’s just generally discouraging.

Employers or even employees themselves invested in insuring their income hasn’t been normalised in Nigeria. It is this vacuum Casava is trying to fill with its Income Protection Insurance. Casava’s motivation stems from the ever-rising unemployment rate in Nigeria and the fact that this has plunged many people into financial distress.

In a nutshell, Casava helps you earn after losing your job, save money on healthcare and insure every other thing you care about. Get early access.