Places Nigerians visited during COVID-19 government stay-home policy: evidence from secondary analysis of data collected during the lockdown.

Introduction: Compliance with the Government's lockdown policy is required to curtail community transmission of Covid-19 infection. The objective of this research was to identify places Nigerians visited during the lockdown to help prepare for a response towards future infectious diseases of public health importance similar to Covid-19. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of unconventional data collected using Google Forms and online social media platforms during the COVID-19 lockdown between April and June 2020 in Nigeria. Two datasets from: i) partnership for evidencebased response to COVID-19 (PERC) wave-1 and ii) College of Medicine, University of Lagos perception of and compliance with physical distancing survey (PCSH) were used. Data on places that people visited during the lockdown were extracted and compared with the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all independent variables and focused on frequencies and percentages. Chi-squared test was used to determine the significance between sociodemographic variables and places visited during the lockdown. Statistical significance was determined by P<0.05. All statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS version 22. Results: There were 1304 and 879 participants in the PERC wave-1 and PCSH datasets, respectively. The mean age of PERC wave-1 and PCSH survey respondents was 31.8 [standard deviation (SD)=8.5] and 33.1 (SD=8.3) years, respectively.In the PCSH survey, 55.9% and 44.1% of respondents lived in locations with partial and complete covid-19 lockdowns, respectively. Irrespective of the type of lockdown, the most common place visited during the lockdown was the market (shopping); reported by 73% of respondents in states with partial lockdown and by 68% of respondents in states with the complete lockdown. Visits to families and friends happened more in states with complete (16.1%) than in states with partial (8.4%) lockdowns. Conclusions: Markets (shopping) were the main places visited during the lockdown compared to visiting friends/family, places of worship, gyms, and workplaces. It is important in the future for the Government to plan how citizens can safely access markets and get other household items during lockdowns for better adherence to stay-at-home directives for future infectious disease epidemics.

Epidemiology and psychosocial assessment of COVID-19 among workers of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control infected with COVID-19.

Background: COVID-19 is a global health crisis. By 2021, Nigeria had 230,000 cases. As the national public health institute, NCDC leads the COVID-19 response. Due to constant contact with infected patients, agency employees are a t high-risk. Here, we describe the transmission and psychosocial effects of COVID- 19 among infected NCDC workers as a learning curve for minimizing occupational transmission among frontline public health workers in future outbreaks. Methods: We approved and enrolled all NCDC COVID-19- infected personnel from November to December 2020. We collected data using SurveyMonkey. STATA 14 analyzed the data. Results: 172 of 300 afflicted NCDC staff participated in this study. One-third were between 30 and 39; most were male (104, 60.5%). Most participants worked in the lab (30%) or surveillance (24%). Only 19% (33/172) of participants confirmed pandemic deployment. Most reported interaction with a confirmed case (112/65.1%). Most people (78, 45.3%) felt unhappy when diagnosed. Anger, worry, and low motivation also ranked high (19). The majority reported adequate financial, moral, or psychosocial assistance (26, 70.6%). Conclusions: NCDC staff had a high SARS-CoV-2 infection rate and emotional damage. We urge stricter infection control methods when sending staff for outbreaks response to prevent additional transmission, as well as ongoing psychosocial and economic assistance for afflicted workers.

Trend and enhanced surveillance of Monkeypox during COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

Monkeypox (MPX) is a viral zoonosis with lesions like smallpox. Though rare in Nigeria, sporadic outbreaks have been reported in 17 states since September 2017. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has further reduced surveillance and reporting of MPX disease. This study seeks to assess the effect of an enhanced surveillance approach to detect MPX cases and measure the cumulative incidence of MPX in priority states in Nigeria. We identified three priority states (Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa) and their Local Government Areas (LGAs) based on previous disease incidence. We also identified, trained, and incentivized community volunteers to conduct active case searches over three months (January to March 2021). We supported case investigation of suspected cases and followed up on cases in addition to routine active surveillance for MPX in health facilities and communities. Weekly and monthly follow-up was carried out during the same period. Out of the three states, 30 hotspots LGAs out of the 56 LGAs (54%) were engaged for enhanced surveillance. We trained three state supervisors, 30 LGA surveillance facilitators and 600 Community informants across the three priority states. Overall, twenty-five (25) suspected cases of MPX were identified. Out of these, three (12%) were confirmed as positive. Enhanced surveillance improved reporting of MPX diseases in hotspots LGAs across the priority states. Extension of this surveillance approach alongside tailored technical support is critical intra and post-pandemic.