For the Record: Why lockdown can no longer do the magic for America

By Bashir Adefaka

The reality is beginning to dawn on the world that once governments fail at the early stage to contain or put the spread of novel Coronavirus under control, not even a lockdown measure extended over 30 days or more can successfully perform any magic without the populace revolting.

The DEFENDER reports that the comparative evidences now abound in China and the United States, whereas the former’s quick response to the outbreak after it found out the unusual deaths in its Wuhan Province and used maximum deployment of chemicals backed up with most unprecedented lockdown that lasted for the earlier months of 2020 precisely about two months of January and February, United States President Donald Trump deliberately delayed to take action because he believed that his country was either so immune against the virus or that he had already prepared vaccine to contain its outbreak, which failed when, after criticisms by including leadership of the House, he eventually acted.

The resultant effects in the two countries of case study have continued to be obvious. Whereas China has since celebrated the end of the war against Coronavirus left only with few cases of travelers in from outside the country and who are strictly now properly quarantined at the point of entry, America has continued to record exponential increase in every aspect of the cases.

Frustrated by this seeming untameable development that has put his country at risk of attaining an all time explosion in deaths and confirmed cases, President Trump has jumped from one conclusion to another. At first he called the incidence “Chinavirus” but quickly changed his position when he was confronted with heavy attacks and criticisms at home by experts, lawmakers and governors of his own country particularly Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York. Death toll at that time was still within the range of 25 to 80.

When it got above that and climbed to a stage higher than 100, he put a call to Beijing, praising the President of Peoples Republic of China, Xi Jinping, for his response and brilliant performance containing the Coronavirus which he described as “an inspiration to me”. He then sought cooperation of both countries in the fight against the pandemic which Beijing quickly grabbed with a promise to work together with the rest of the world in ending the disease. It then swung into action donating 1,000 ventilators to the U.S. just like it has led in the fight touch lives across Europe, others of the America and Asia including Russia.

Alas! After praising China during the phone communication, US President Trump did the unthinkable. He took to dangerous propaganda against China and he did not pretend about it. The 5G propaganda sprought up with major activeness among America’s aids beneficiaries – the NGOs and their local collaborators – in Nigeria was clearly the handiwork of Trump. But each time it happened, there was always a way out for China. Trump himself was exposed by some of his reckless tweets where he spoke glowingly about how not to lose the benefits associated with 5G technology. It then became clear that 5G, which his agents tried to make the world believe is killer technology that China only used Coronavirus to cover up, is nothing near the claim.

It was just like the case Nigeria’s commerce witnessed in the past where a particular soft drink company, owned by America, would buy off another doing well sift drink and then halt its investment in it so that the popularity of its own existing company would no longer dwindle as it was about to with the fast rising of the bought over one. There were also more such propaganda where Nigerians would be told how not to eat a particular buiscuit by certain company because it is produced with purk meat etc.

The America’s 5G propaganda was not any difference. When it won the technology at 4G and China lost out, it was the best, life saver, economically benefitting. But the moment China won the trillions dollar generating technology now at 5G, after having twitted the many benefits of it, Trump tried to make the world see 5G is the main killer and not coronavirus. Unfortunately, many church leaders in Nigeria became exposed as agents if America in peddling fake news and evil prooaganda, against being the men of God they used to claim buying off all warehouses to build “churches”. No wonder the likes of Christian Association of Nigeria would never cooperate with the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in effort to achieve interreligious peace, harmony and development in the country.

The 5G propaganda failed and the next thing is the trending video of one misbehaving Chinese individual or concocted official maltreatment of Nigerians in China and then the next that is now seen is how African countries that have taken loans from China would not be able to service even the interest talk less the principal, as if any African country has been able to service same loan taken from America. Loan forgiveness is sought when that reality dawned on the black nation.

This is how long America’s Trump has deviated from the real business of focusing on defeating Coronavirus to engaging in supremacy struggle with China, thereby leading now over 50,000 of his people to their untimely graves, Allah knows best. As if that was not enough, Trump resumed his was against China, weeks after he escalated his anti-China hate to stopping his country’s contribution to United Nations agency, World Health Organization (WHO).

Today, days after his action, WHO has made more progresses in the fight against the virus than before without United States and it is now clear that America is not part of global effort to end the disease. And so the problem, which has been slowing down in Italy and Spain, has continued to climb to the top in America with deaths now quite over 50,000 from near one million infections recorded.

As a result, a few states in America at the weekend ran a tricky experiment as they tried to reopen certain businesses and services amid the coronavirus pandemic, even against the advice of some health experts who say it risks dangerously spiking the number of cases.

In Georgia, Tammy Noboa has seized on her state’s blessing to open her hair salon after weeks of closure — and she says deciding to do so wasn’t hard.

“I have to work. I’ve got bills to pay,” said Noboa, who accepted seven appointments Saturday at her newly reopened Dominican Hair Salon in Douglasville.

Georgia is one of the states that allowed some businesses to reopen Friday April 24, 2020 weeks after shutting them down to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

More than 52,000 Covid-19 deaths have been reported in the US so far, with more than 200,000 deaths reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. The US has reported more than 924,000 cases of the disease.

Georgia’s reopenings include places where clients and workers get close: barber shops and hair salons, tattoo parlors, gyms and bowling alleys — with some guidelines for social distancing and sanitation.

In Oklahoma, salons, barbershops, spas and pet groomers also took appointments Friday, and state parks and outdoor recreation areas also reopened.

The states’ moves run counter to the advice of experts who’ve run a University of Washington model suggesting no state should reopen their economies before May 1 and many should wait longer.

Georgia should not begin to reopen until at least June 22, according to those behind the model at the university’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

In the Atlanta-area city of Brookhaven, Mayor John Ernst would rather nonessential businesses stay closed until his state proves it meets federal guidelines, calling for milestones like a 14-day downward trend in coronavirus cases.

“Even the (business owners) who open up say, ‘I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing,” Ernst said Saturday. “(Reopening) needs to be an orderly process.”