The Ogun State government in Nigeria has declared that anyone not wearing a facemask will be arrested and quarantined for two weeks.
According to Dr Ben Cowling, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Hong Kong, ‘In general, there’s not a large benefit of wearing surgical face masks either for people who are sick or for other people who just want to protect themselves against getting infected.’
In its March 20, 2020, issue, The Lancet, a respiratory medicine publication, also states that ‘Evidence that face masks can provide effective protection against respiratory infections in the community is scarce, as acknowledged in recommendations from the UK and Germany.’
The Business Insider of February 27, 2020, states, ‘But wearing a face mask is not necessarily an effective option for everyone.’
Given the above, I wonder whose advice the government has taken to pronounce such sweeping measures. Or is it an example of an overbearing government going for overkill?
In a country where most people barely earn up to $2 per day, is forcing people to wear face masks reasonable? To add salt to the people’s injury, they’ve been forced into a lockdown without earning their daily bread.
Anyway, I trust my people. I can see some of them using bras and pants as face masks!
Indeed, Lagbaja and Temedu have come to town!!
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