Super Eagles Star Balogun Urges Nigerians To Take The Coronavirus Pandemic More Seriously

COVID-19 is an infection that Nigerians must avoid as much as possible because of its adverse health and economic impacts, says Brighton and Hove Albion defender Leon Balogun.

On-loan Wigan Athletic centre-half Balogun has charged his compatriots to treat the coronavirus infection with extra urgency so that it would not have as many disastrous effects on the country as it has in other parts of the world.

The dreaded contagious disease, still without a known cure, is ravaging Europe with no signs of slowing down.

The pandemic has claimed more than 50,000 lives globally and affected over a million while Nigeria has recorded four deaths from 210 cases since the first reported case on February 27.

In contrast, Spain and Italy have recorded a combined total of more than 25,000 deaths, their comparably better medical facilities.

The development saw the Nigerian government order a two-week lockdown last Friday and closed all its borders, including land, air, and water, in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.

Balogun insists every single Nigerian has a role to play in stopping the spread of the killer-virus.

“It (Coronavirus) is highly contagious,” the former Mainz man said in a chat with Tolu Olasoji. 

“So everyone in Nigeria has to take it seriously.

“I know they see worse problems every day, but this is something – as tiny as this virus is – that can affect so much. I mean everything, even the economy.

“You just want to avoid it.”