Medical specialists on Wednesday berated the Kogi State Authorities for banning using face masks in public locations as a part of efforts to sort out insecurity within the state.
They described the ban as a technique by the governor to additional again his declare that there isn’t any COVID-19 in his state.
The Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, had on Tuesday banned using face masks in public locations simply as he ordered the demolition of shanties in some areas as a part of the state authorities’s response to a sequence of safety breaches skilled within the state in current occasions.
The governor gave the directives in Lokoja throughout a gathering with all first and second-class conventional rulers, together with native authorities chairmen within the state.
The ban is coming regardless of the growing instances of COVID-19 within the nation.
Knowledge obtained from the Nigeria Centre for Illness Management confirmed that the nation reported 709 COVID-19 instances in a single week.
Discussing with The PUNCH on Wednesday, a former marketing consultant with the World Well being Organisation, Prof. Tanimola Akande, stated “The ban on face masks with growing instances of COVID-19 in Nigeria is just not correctly considered and positively not primarily based on scientific and public well being reasoning. It’s a huge deception to assert there isn’t any COVID-19 in Kogi State.
“What makes Kogi State an island in Nigeria insulated from COVID-19? The intentional cover-up of instances in Kogi State is a complete deception.”
Akande, who can be a former Nationwide Chairman of the Affiliation of Public Well being Physicians, stated the choice will additional expose the state to COVID-19.
“This resolution will additional expose Kogi State to COVID-19 and encourage a few of them to not take acceptable actions to guard themselves. It’s hoped that the related authorities companies will take this up with the state authorities,” he stated.
Reacting, the Chairman of the Edo State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Affiliation, Dr. Harrison Omokhua, additionally tackled the state authorities for being controversial concerning COVID-19.
Omokhua stated, “In the event you observe the development concerning COVID-19, you’ll recall that the Kogi State governor has all the time been on the opposite aspect. So, I’m not shocked by his resolution.
“Although COVID-19 mortality fee has decreased, it doesn’t imply that we now not have the virus. You’ll be shocked that should you check folks randomly, they’ve the virus however the issues have decreased. Saying that individuals shouldn’t put on face masks for safety causes is just not a good suggestion.
“Whether it is for safety causes, you possibly can nonetheless monitor somebody sporting face masks, the particular person can take away it momentarily and the particular person wears it again. Banning it’s unsuitable since you don’t know who will come down with COVID-19 complication.”
Additionally, a former chairman of NMA in Lagos State, Dr. Tajudeen Salau, described the choice as dangerous.
“Regardless of the case is, each of them trouble on livelihood and they’re threats to life. Nevertheless, I don’t assume we ought to be exposing ourselves to at least one simply because we wish to shield ourselves from the opposite.
“We have to have appropriate particulars about how face masks have been in a position to curb insecurity whereas exposing extra folks to COVID-19. I don’t know the analogy that has been achieved to provide you with this,” Salau stated.
Additionally reacting, a medical scientist on the Division of Microbiology, Nnamdi Azikiwe College Instructing Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State, Obinna Chukwudi, faulted the state authorities.
Chukwudi stated, “The Kogi State Authorities can not utterly ban using face masks. Do you even know who the bandits are? Do you may have the prison data of the bandits such that even when they don’t put on face masks, you’ll know that they’re those?
“Banning using face masks is not going to curb crime as a result of these individuals are nonetheless unknown to us. We don’t even have information about these folks. The federal government can chill out using face masks for a selected interval after which it may well encourage them to be sporting the face masks once more.”
When contacted, the Deputy Director, Media and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Well being, Ahmadu Chindaya, stated, “On the proper time, the ministry will react, as soon as it (the report) is within the paper, the ministry will react.”
The media inquiry request despatched to the NCDC is but to be responded to as of the time of submitting this report.
