Africa's biggest city Lagos locks down to defend against coronavirus

By Angela Ukomadu and Alexis Akwagyiram
LAGOS, March 31 (Reuters) - Lagos, Africa's largest city of
at least 20 million people, ground to a halt on Tuesday as it
and the Nigerian capital Abuja entered a two-week lockdown to
stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Lagos' usual unending cacophony and interminable "go slows"
or traffic jams were gone. Streets were virtually empty but for
ambulances and police vehicles. Security forces manned frequent
checkpoints where cars crawled through one by one.
Africa's confirmed cases had climbed to at least 5,300 by
Tuesday morning, with more than 170 recorded deaths, according
to a Reuters tally.
In the little more than 24 hours since Nigeria President
Muhammadu Buhari had announced the lockdown, coronavirus had
transformed one of the world's biggest megacities, where many
live in slums and eke out a living at the best of times.
However, the terms of the lockdown have created confusion.
While Nigeria's president said food retailers and health
facilities could remain open, he did not say whether people
could leave their homes to buy necessities or seek care.
On Awolowo road, a normally busy street in the upmarket
Ikoyi district, Andy Bankong, a bank security guard, had
accepted his fate of a long trek home. No public transport meant
walking more than 4 miles. Soldiers told him he could not return
to the bank.
"If I lose the job, I can't support my family. And it isn't
easy to find work now in Lagos," said the father of two, who
sends money to his wife in the southern state of Cross River to
feed their children and pay for school fees.
Few were on the streets. Even health staff struggled to get
to work.
"I am medical personnel," said Onolapo Adebayo, speaking
shortly before 9 a.m. at a bus stop. "They are calling me to
start coming to the office but there is no vehicle."
People who could not afford to stockpile for the 14-day
lockdown were left dependent on government relief packages.
The Lagos state government has said it will distribute food
to those in need to last the 14 days, targeting 200,000
households, or 1.2 million people, on Tuesday.
On Monday, the federal government in Abuja said it had begun
cash transfers to Nigeria's poorest households to sustain them
through the crisis.
Across the continent, other countries have introduced their
own relief programmes for people, including South Africa,
Zimbabwe and Botswana.
Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Tuesday declared a
State of Emergency following three confirmed coronavirus cases.
The southern African country will enter a 28-day lockdown from
midnight Thursday.
"This decision was by no means taken lightly," said Masisi.
"I am convinced that I make it in the best interest of our
nation."
South Africa, where a lockdown began on Friday, will be the
continent's first country to conduct large-scale screening, said
President Cyril Ramaphosa, announcing the move late on Monday.
"Around 10,000 field workers will be visiting homes in
villages, towns and cities to screen residents for COVID-19
symptoms," Ramaphosa said.
But in some countries, new restrictions on movement sparked
new fears.
In Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, rights groups have
frequently accused police of using excessive force, with
complaints about brutality, corruption and extrajudicial
executions.
Already, allegations have been made against security forces,
empowered by movement bans to carry out abuses.
Videos of South African police beating people in public with
sticks circulated on social media.
South African police spokesman Vishnu Naidoo said the videos
need to be verified, but have been noted with "serious concern",
adding: "such alleged behaviour by security forces is
unacceptable, which can be neither tolerated nor condoned."
In Kenya, the director of public prosecutions ordered an
investigation into the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy in
the slum of Mathare, the prosecutor's office said on Twitter.
Media reports quoted a Nairobi official as saying the boy
was hit by a stray bullet.