Coronavirus - Ndi-Igbo Basildon.
Coronavirus infects people through contaminated hands, by aerosolised air through coughing, sneezing and speaking. The virus enters another person through the eyes, nostrils, mouth and broken skin. It takes between 2 days to 14 days for the infected person to start showing symptoms, but during this symptom-free period (incubation period) the person with the virus will continue to pass it to others around him/her. As at the 6th of May 2020, over 201 thousand people tested positive while about 30,000 people have died in the UK.
A third of the UK deaths from COVID-19 is from BAME communities. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has concluded that Britons from black African backgrounds are dying from coronavirus at 3.5 times the rate of white people. For people of black Caribbean heritage, per capita deaths were 1.7 times higher, rising to 2.7 times higher for those with Pakistani heritage. The IFS study said given demographic and geographic profiles, most minority ethnic groups are dying in "excess" numbers in hospitals.
Sunlight is a major source of vitamin D, but the black / dark Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) skin delays the production of vitamin of vitamin D from sunlight. BAME diets are low or deficient in Vitamin D and the added delay in getting this essential immune health vitamin from sunlight mitigates against adequate body levels of vitamin D. Consequently, BAME are at a higher risk of deaths from Covid-19 due to their low levels of vitamin D, possibly explaining the relatively high UK deaths among this group from COVID-19.
The classical symptoms of coronavirus include fever with temperature typically over 37.8, dry persistent cough for a week or more, chest pains the first 2 weeks and then breathlessness in the 2nd to 3rd week. Some people may complain of loss of taste, loss of smell, headaches and rash. 10 percent of coronavirus shows as diarrhoea, vomiting and tummy aches. Sometimes this is mistaken for food poisoning.
According to the observations from different countries including Asia and African BAME people are also likely to present with COVID-19 symptoms differently to non- BAME. This includes aches and extreme lethargy (malaise), sternal pains, joint aches along with the established symptoms above. It has also been noted that COVID-19 may cause tiny blood clots in a large proportion of people which has potential to lead to bleeding and blood clots in the lungs mistaken for pneumonia – a leading cause of death.
The UK government brought in lockdown measures on the 23rd of March 2020, with strong advice to wash our hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, people staying inside during the lockdown period, social distancing and use of masks if symptomatic. We strongly urge all our members to comply with the governments directives and remain law abiding.
An attendant problem with the lockdown is lack of vitamin D. The dark skin of our members protects us from certain skin cancer, but unfortunately delays the production of vitamin D, which protects use from this virus and other respiratory diseases. In partnership with ActiveEssex, Ndi-igbo Basildon were able to procure and distribute vitamin D supplements to all our families to mitigate against the risk of Covid-19 and other viral infections while encouraging our members to complement with foods rich in the various vitamins that help our immune health and therefore protect us from certain infections. Furthermore, our families are advised to keep active during the lockdown by doing in house activities like Joe Wick’s 30mins exercise family exercise sessions, walk-outs, other video exercise sessions to keep us active until the lockdown is over when possibly we may re-commence our weekly ELDP exercise activities with Essex County Council.
Through Girls Empowered Charity, some of our members had benefitted from stipends to buy foods and other personal effects to help struggling families cope with the effects of the lockdown on their physical and mental health and their jobs.
Ndi-Igbo Basildon will continue to explore all possible avenues to support members in this difficult time.
Prince Dr C Ukpaka
Chairman – Nzuko Ndi-Igbo Basildon
