NCDC DG: Wearing face masks alone cannot protect you from COVID-19

Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), says the use of face masks alone is not enough to protect people against the spread of COVID-19.

Ben Ayade, governor of Cross River, had said there was no need for social distancing as long as people put on face masks.

But speaking during the presidential task force briefing on Friday, Ihekweazu said the use of face masks can only be added to preventive measures and not used in isolation against the disease.

“The masks are not going to solve the problems. There have been some messages around the country seeming to imply that wearing a mask makes all the other measures no longer necessary,” Ihekweazu said.

“This is simply not the case. If we do offer an advice on wearing masks, it would be in addition to everything else, not be in place of it. So, we have to understand the reason for these measures.”

The DG further said there is the need for better understanding of the meaning of social distancing, a term he proposed replacing with “physical distancing”.

“A concept we had described as social distancing until now. I’d actually like to introduce a new term that probably better describes what we are trying to do, a move from the term social distancing to physical distancing, cos what we are not suggesting is for you to be socially apart from each other,” he said.

“We’re not suggesting that you be physically apart but use technology and any other means available to you to increase your social relationship.

“We have a peculiar challenge in Nigeria. We have one of the highest population densities in the world, which means we have the most peopel living in the same geographical space. It is this closeness to each other that really enables the virus to transmit from one person to another.”

Commenting on the relaxation of the lockdown in some states over the Easter celebrations, Ihekweazu said while he understands that the lockdown is difficult for Christians during this period, “we need to pay a short term price for a long term goal”

“There is no weekend more important for Christianity than this weekend. This weekend will be the hardest fro the christians among the Nigerian population but we need to pay a short term price for a long term goal and physical distancing is probably the most important tool,” he said.