CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Corona viruses are a category of viruses that infect both animals and humans and belong to the Coronaviridae family. Human corona viruses may cause moderate sickness, akin to a common cold, or more severe illness (such as MERS - Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and SARS - Extreme Acute Respiratory Syndrome) (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). In December 2019, a novel corona-virus that has never been seen in people before was found in Wuhan, china. Respiratory problems such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath are signs and symptoms. Infection may lead to pneumonia, serious acute respiratory syndrome, and even death in the most severe instances. When coughing or sneezing, protect the nose and mouth with a flexed elbow or disposable towel, and avoid physical contact with someone who has a fever and cough, according to conventional recommendations. WHO is collaborating with worldwide scientists, governments, and partners to swiftly expand scientific understanding about this new virus and to give timely information about how to safeguard people's health and limit the illness from spreading. Prior to the entry of COVID-19 into Nigeria, the government developed a "Corona-virus readiness team" under the country's major public health body, NCDC ( Nigeria Centre for Disease Control) ( Nigeria Centre for Disease Control). Nigeria is one of the top thirteen nations indicated as having a high risk of importing COVID-19, based on either a direct connection or an indirect link or strong quantity of traffic to and from China.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
A point-of-sale terminal (POS)is a piece of hardware that enables you to take credit cards at a retail store. The device contains software that scans magnetic strips from credit and debit cards. The next generation of POS systems includes proprietary and third-party portable devices (as opposed to terminals fixed to a counter), as well as contactless capabilities for new sorts of mobile payments. As compared to the previous month, the total quantity of payment transactions using Nigerian payment networks decreased by a stunning 26 percent in April. In March, the Nigerian government put a halt to all economic activities. Cheque, ATM, POS, E-bills, and NIP (interbank transfers) transactions were all included in the findings. Other transaction networks like as Web, Mobile, NEFT, and others were not included in the CBN statistics for April. The last time Nigeria had fewer than 190 million payment transactions for the subsets was in February 2018, when it had 159.9 million. (CBN, 2020) The lock-down has had an influence on many parts of the economy.
As companies resume regular operations, the number of purchases handled by Point of Sale (PoS) terminals and mobile devices has started to return following decreasing substantially in April due to the COVID-19 lockout. Due to the lock-down, the number of PoS transactions plummeted by more than 20 percent to 40.85 million in April, from 52.2 million at the end of March. According to a survey issued by the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System, the trend is reversing, with POS registering roughly 48.37 million transactions in May. (NIBSS).
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
To evaluate if POS money were accessible during the corona virus lock-down.
To assess whether or not POS merchants were available during the Corona virus lock-down.
1.4 QUESTIONS IN THE RESEARCH PROCESS
I. How much POS cash was available during the lockdown?'
Is it true that the Corona virus lock-down allowed for access to POS vendors?
The study's significance is estimated as 1.5.
The importance of this study lies in the fact that it might be useful to other academics, intellectuals, and students who want to do similar research in the future.
1.6 AIM OF THE EXAMINATION
This study focused on the accessibility of POS during a lock-down in Enugu, the state capital.
1.7 RESTRICTIONS ON THE STUDY
Finances were a problem throughout my studies. The researcher also had to contend with a lack of materials and a limited amount of time while doing the investigation.
THE DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
This broad family of viruses has been implicated in a wide range of illnesses, from the common cold to more serious conditions including the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
(SARS).
Point-of-sale (POS) terminals enable retailers to take credit cards at the point of sale (point of sale). Software for reading magnetic strips from credit and debit cards is included in the device.
LOCK-DOWN: Lock-down is a defensive or protective measure that restricts access to an area.
A accumulation of money put aside for a certain purpose is referred to as a fund.
.