Abstract
This chapter addressed Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) impact on tertiary institutions in Nigeria, its effect on the economy, and possible coping strategies in a time of global pandemic and national disaster. COVID-19 was reported as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, discovered in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, spread to several nations, forcing the closure of tertiary institutions all over the world. The effect has also disrupted the school academic calendar at tertiary institutions, decreased international education, Suspension of local and international conferences, etc. And the economy, leading to job losses, revenue loss in the informal sector, business closure, agricultural production and food insecurity, a sharp drop in oil revenues, and economic uncertainties. Which, thus, harms the economy. This chapter makes recommendations to assist Nigeria's government and the educational institutions in coping with the effect of the outbreak and similar pandemics soon.
TopIntroduction
In history, humankind has experienced various pandemics where some of which were disastrous than others. The 1918 pandemic, popularly referred to as the Spanish Flu, killed more than 50 million people worldwide, where more than 14 million people died in India and Britain alone. The impact of the pandemic had grown broader and more global. It had a significant effect on World War I. Imperial borders and large-scale deprivation are exacerbated by unemployment and inflation through a range of countries. The pandemic increased the movements of liberation in former colonies and pushed nations to implement universal healthcare policies. It has also led to advances in epidemiology, virology, and vaccine production.
Fast forward a century, the Covid-19 pandemic went on its disastrous course at various timelines in different parts of the world. The pandemic has wreaked havoc on economies around the globe. Experts anticipate that the outbreak will cause the country to enter a worldwide financial crisis (Ozili, 2020). This virus has claimed many lives all around the world. Table 1 summarises the number of reported cases and deaths worldwide since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. There were 5,203,796 cases and 336,559 deaths worldwide as of the 24th of May 2020, as shown in the table below.
Table 1. Global Covid-19 statistics as of 24th May 2020.
| Region | Total confirmed cases | Total deaths |
| Africa | 77,295 | 2,073 |
| Americas | 2,338,124 | 138,116 |
| Eastern Mediterranean | 415,806 | 10,988 |
| Europe | 2,006,984 | 173,886 |
| South-East Asia | 191,966 | 5,748 |
| Western Pacific | 173,621 | 5,748 |
| Total | 5,203,796 | 336,559 |
Source: WHO
Key Terms in this Chapter
WHO: The World Health Organization (WHO) is a United Nations specialised organisation in charge of global public health.
Tertiary: Refers to higher Education, or post- secondary Education received at (Government or privately funded), monotechnics, polytechnics and colleges of Education.
COVID-19: It’s an illness caused by a novel coronavirus now called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; formerly called 2019-nCoV), which was first identified amid an outbreak of respiratory illness cases in Wuhan City, Hubei Province.
Economy: Refers to the state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services and the supply of money.