Durosinmi Wasiu Ayobami
@unilorin.edu.ng
Lecturer, Faculty of Environmental Sciences
University of Ilorin
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Environmental Science
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scopus Publications
Idayat Durotoye, Rasheed Odunola, Oluwapelumi Adeyemi, Alex Akanmu, Oladimeji Bolarinwa, Muhammed Adeboye, Ali Abdullahi, Zulkarnain Bolajoko, Wasiu Durosinmi, George Adebisi,et al.
Wiley
An outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported from Wuhan, China in December 2019. The rapid spread of COVID-19 principally through respiratory droplets and fomites transitioned into a global pandemic in waves of outbreaks across regions. 1 The projected colossal impact of the pandemic on economies particu-larly in low to middle income countries (LMIC), 2 have prompted pertinent questions about Africa's preparedness. 3 This report highlights early responses of a Nigerian institution to the COVID-19 pandemic. The University of Ilorin (Unilorin), Ilorin, Nigeria is an international institution of higher learning, which was established by the Nigerian Government in 1976. It occupies a 15 000-ha landmass that cuts across several rural communities in Kwara State, North-central Nigeria and 180 miles (289.7 km) from the Lagos epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria. The Unilorin community comprises over 4500 workers and 56 600 students across 15 faculties, one College of Health Sciences, and a School of Preliminary Studies. Following the first reported case of COVID-19 in Lagos, Nigeria, a COVID-19 Prevention Committee (herein referred to as The Committee ) was setup by the University management to safeguard the University community. Within 3 weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria, the committee successfully implemented a string of containment measures before the first confirmed case was reported in Ilorin, Kwara State. The sweeping impact of COVID-19 on healthcare facilities across climes, emphasizes the importance of early preparation of healthcare facilities. 4 The Unilorin health services was setup to meet the health needs of students and staff of the University community within a clinic facility that operates in collaboration with the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, where cases that require specialist's attention are referred. Within the week of the outbreak of COVID-19 in Nigeria, the University clinic operations were modified to meet the imminent challenges of the epidemic. Routine and nonemergency visits to the University Healthcare Center were