Latest Pandemic News

Nigeria’s Covid-19 Response

Ambassador John Campbell and Jack McCaslin, Research Associate, Africa Policy, at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote about Nigeria’s response to the pandemic on April 28, So the information is already a couple of days old.

From the Nigerian CDC I just found that the cases today number 1,932, with active cases at 1,555. 319 patients have been discharged, and there have been 58 deaths.

Even though the numbers show a low level of the virus, Campbell and his co-author say this is at least partially a result of a low level of testing. From our own experience I can say that even when there is testing the results are not forthcoming or reliable.

Positive Response

On the positive side, the authors report that there has been good response to the country’s lockdown of Lagos, Ogun State and the capital Abuja. Most religious leaders have agreed to hold off on gatherings. Even states that have not been told to close businesses have done so. “That states and Nigerian leaders at the highest level are working together is a good sign,” they say.

Now President Buhari has announced partial re-openings from Monday, May 4. Granddaughter Nkiru is very excited to see her friends at Sam’s office again, though it may be just half the staff and for half the time.

The Embassy has sent a notice that there is no evacuation flight planned at the moment but one could happen. I’m hoping that the airport will open by May 11 and I can go home on a regular Delta flight.

Connections Abound

I often read WestportNow.com and look at the obituaries.

Yesterday I saw the obituary of Helen Wood who died on April 9 at the age of 90. Her husband’s name seemed vaguely familiar.

I read on and found clear connections. Helen was a Mount Holyoke alum, I learned. She graduated in 1951. Then I found this: “Always interested in Bible history, she developed a course and taught the subject to sixth graders at the Westport Unitarian Church.”

Her husband was Westport’s First Selectman (mayor) from 1989 through 1993; he was also RTM (Representative Town Meeting) moderator. Maybe I met him when I joined the Westport Library board in 1994, my second year in town. Or I met her at the church which I also joined that year, or at a Mount Holyoke alum event. They moved to Florida in 1995.

She was intrigued with the stone walls of Westport and how they were being allowed to disintegrate. The New York Times published her article about them in 1989. You can read it here.

Let me know if you think saving the stone walls is important.

Velvet Tamarind

Sam was snacking on something when I came into the living room yesterday afternoon. I was surprised to see what it was.

They were small velvety brown fruits, smaller than grapes. They’re called awin, in Yoruba, in Igbo they are icheku and the Hausa name is tsamiyar kurm. I remembered having them before.

Flavor from the Past

He said, “When I was in Los Angeles I liked to eat local, as I do everywhere. I had this tamarind drink. And it wasn’t until years later when I had these back here in Nigeria that I remembered the taste!”

The English name for the small fruit is velvet tamarind. It is not the same as tamarind, though related, and the sour-sweet taste is similar.

These have an outer shell that easily breaks off. Then you pop the tiny orange fruit into your mouth and suck on it. You’re left with an inner seed to throw away.

I found a recipe online for a drink made from the fruit. The chef says you can soak the fruits in warm water for 15 or 20 minutes. Most of the shells will come off and the inner soft part dissolves into the water. Then you strain the liquid and have a flavorful drink of orange velvet tamarind juice.

You can buy the seeds in the US, I found. I don’t know how large the market for them is, but I guess enough to make it worthwhile for ebay and others to carry them.

One writer lists several traditional uses of velvet tamarind. They’re helpful for many illnesses including hypertension, he says! He adds, the bark’s “decoction has medical applications too, solving toothache. Also the bark lowers the inflammation from the bronchial tubes, solving bronchitis.”

But wouldn’t drug manufacturers in the West have picked up on these qualities? Or don’t they know?

Climate Change in the South Pacific

WorldView Magazine is published quarterly by the National Peace Corps Association. The latest issue was mostly completed before the pandemic took over our world.

With several heart-rending articles about islands in the South Pacific threatened by climate change, it makes powerful reading. Jack Niedenthal wrote about the Marshall Islands.

Niedenthal’s story reminds me of my own experience. He married a Marshall Islands woman and stayed on! I’ll write about him and the Marshall Islands next time.

Have you been there?