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Lagosians express concerns as coronavirus lockdown kicks in

Nigeria

Residents in Africa’s biggest city scrambled to finish last-minute shopping on Monday night ahead of a lockdown imposed by the federal government. Authorities are trying to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Lagos is the epicenter of the virus outbreak in the country accounting for about 60% of all cases across the country. In the impoverished area of Lagos Island, buyers can’t find enough food for two weeks.

Abdul Rahim, a customer in Jankara market told the media: “We are not fully prepared because the economic situation in Nigeria is not really good. It’s very poor. Things are more costly than before.”

For his part, a vendor at the market, Emeka worried of the impact of the lockdown: “They have asked us to sit at home. They have to provide what we are going to need for us.

“Inside the house, there is no food for us. You see many people here but they have no money to buy nothing for them. No stuffed food. We don’t have anything to eat in the house,” he bemoaned.

President Muhammadu Buhari ordered a two-week “cessation of all movements” in two states – Lagos and Ogun as well as in the capital Abuja in a bid to ward off an explosion of cases in Africa’s most populous country.

Businesses are to be shut, non-food shops closed and people made to stay at home as the authorities look to track down possible carriers of the disease after reporting 111 confirmed cases and one death so far.

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