Nigerians are abandoning the use of face masks and other safety protocols as rates of COVID-19 infections are declining in the country.
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.
In Zamafara State, one of our correspondents observed that people stopped wearing face masks two months ago following the pronouncement of the state Governor, Bello Matawalle that “ Zamfara State is coronavirus -free.”
An engineer in the state Ministry of Education, Aliyu Abdul Aziz, in an interview with The PUNCH, said, “I stopped wearing a face mask when the state government announced that there was no coronavirus in Zamfara.”
Another person, Mallam Aminu Duniya, said, “The disease is no more here, so why should I suffer myself wearing a face mask?”
PUNCH