Nigerians are abandoning the use of face masks and other safety protocols as cases of COVID-19 infections decline in the country, findings by The PUNCH have revealed.
But the Nigerian Medical Association and virologists told The PUNCH on Sunday that with lax adherence to safety protocols, Nigeria could witness another coronavirus surge as schools prepared for full resumption.
They also warned that with resumption of international flights, failure to abide by COVID-19 protocols could trigger more cases of the deadly virus.
The PUNCH’s correspondents, who monitored adherence to COVID-19 protocols in states, reported that face masks had been abandoned, except in banks, where customers were forced to use them.
As Nigerians fully return to their daily business activities, recent data has shown that the number of new cases of COVID-19 in the country is picking up again, with 225 patients admitted on the 13th of October 2020, which amounts to a total of 60,655 recorded cases to date.
In the past 10 days, a total of 1,368 new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) with a daily average of 137 cases, while active cases have grown to 7,533 as of 13th October 2020. This is an indication of a possible second wave of the pandemic in the country.
To curb the second wave of COVID-19 infections in France, the French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a 9pm-6am curfew for Paris and 8 other big French cities from Saturday, in an attempt to curb the rising cases of coronavirus infections that threaten to overwhelm the country’s hospitals, citing that “Our intensive care wards are under unsustainable pressure.”
Italy has surpassed its daily record for newly diagnosed coronavirus cases. Data from the country’s Ministry of Health showed that the number of newly diagnosed daily cases rose to 7,332 on Wednesday, up from 5,901 on Tuesday and surpassing the highest levels seen at the start of the pandemic.
Portugal has declared a national state of emergency and banned groups of more than five from meeting in public, in order to combat what Prime Minister António Costa described as a serious increase in coronavirus infections.
As we continue to battle this virus and minimize the effects, it is very important to always be safety conscious, wear your mask, use your hand sanitizer and prepare for any further movement restrictions that may be imposed by the Nigerian Government.
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