Like Seat Belt, Not Wearing Facemask Should Be An Offence

 

Remember the time when most Nigerians do not put on their seat belts behind the wheels! Not that the vehicles imported into the country then did not come with the seat belt

accessory. They just disregarded the essence of the belt.

 

That the seat belts was put in the vehicles by the manufacturers to protect the driver and the person sitting on the passenger seat fell on deaf ears. Then enters the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the enforcement of the putting on of the seat belts. In 2003, the seat belt law was introduced, which makes it an offence for front seat occupants of vehicles not to wear seat belts. The seat belt law is

exclusively enforced in Nigeria by the FRSC. It was the game changer. Every driver was forced by law to wear seat belt.

 

If we were a country that keeps record it would have been obvious by now that thousands of lives have been saved just by

the front seat occupants of the vehicles putting on their seat belts during road accidents. Writing this I searched for records of number of lives saved by wearing seat belts since the seat belt law was introduced in 2003 without success! FRSC should readily have such important information.

 

Today, except for some recalcitrant few that still put on their seat belts only when they sighted at a distance the Road Safety officials or the police, most Nigerians, especially in major urban centres put on their seat belts whenever they entered their vehicles, even unconsciously, because it has become a habit. A good habit at that! That brings us to the issue of wearing facemask in the country as a key solution to the halting of the spread of COVID-19, which has been disregarded by most Nigerians at a time that the virus is spreading in alarming within our communities and the flattening of the COVID-19 curve seemed like a pipe dream.

 

Nigerians seem not to appreciate the importance of wearing a facemask in public to protect them and their families from coronavirus. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also recommended the use of facemasks, saying they should be worn in public where social distancing is not possible to help stop the spread of coronavirus. The global body said new information showed they could provide "a barrier for potentially infectious droplets". WHO director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said recently that "in

light of evolving evidence, the WHO advises that governments should encourage the general public to wear masks where there is widespread transmission and physical distancing is difficult, such as on public transport, in shops or in other

confined or crowded environments." Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead expert on Covid-19, told Reuters news agency that the recommendation was for people to wear a "fabric mask - that is, a non-medical mask". Fabric masks should consist of "at least three layers of different material" in order to be effective, the WHO says. However, those aged over-60 and with underlying health risks should wear medical masks in areas where there is community transmission.

 

In an editorial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reviewed the latest science and affirms that cloth face coverings are a critical tool in the fight

against COVID-19 that could reduce the spread of the disease, particularly when used universally within communities. There is increasing evidence that cloth face coverings help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to

others. “We are not defenseless against COVID-19,” said CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield. “Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus – particularly when used universally

within a community setting.” This review included two case studies published recently, one from JAMA, showing that adherence to universal masking policies reduced SARS-CoV-2 transmission within a Boston hospital system, and one from CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), showing that wearing a mask prevented the spread of infection from two hair stylists to their customers in Missouri.

 

Additional data in MMWR showed that immediately after the White House Coronavirus Task Force and CDC advised Americans to wear cloth face coverings when leaving home, the proportion of U.S. adults who chose to do so increased, with 3 in 4 reporting they had adopted the recommendation in a national internet survey. The results of the Missouri case study provide further evidence on the benefits of wearing a cloth face covering. The investigation focused on two hair stylists — infected with and having symptoms of COVID-19 — whose salon policy followed a local ordinance requiring cloth face coverings for all employees and patrons. The investigators found that none of the stylists’ 139 clients or secondary contacts became ill, and all 67 clients who volunteered to be tested showed no sign of infection. The finding adds to a growing body of evidence that cloth face coverings provide source control – that is, they help prevent the person wearing the mask from spreading COVID-19 to others.

The main protection individuals gain from masking occurs when others in their communities also wear face coverings.

 

 Given the benefits of facemasks it beats ones imagination why most Nigerians are not wearing it. As a result of this unfortunate sad reality, the time has come to make it an offence for anyone to be found in public without facemask, just like it is an offence to drive without seat belt.

 

In April this year, two of the epicentres of COVID-19, Ogun and Lagos states muted the idea of enforcing wearing of facemasks. Governor Dapo Abiodun told newsmen that, “We are planning to enforce the use of face masks but we can’t begin when we have not provided face masks for those that render essential services such as market women and men, drivers, security agents, journalists and others. After we take the delivery of over one million face masks we are doing, it will become a law that must be obeyed.” He set the date to begin enforcement at May 1, 2020. He said that violators risked being arrested or even isolated for 14 days. Similarly, the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in April said that wearing of facemasks would be made compulsory for residents of the state. The governor said this would help to curb the spread of coronavirus in the state.

 

While Lagos and Ogun are still prevaricating on the enforcement of wearing of facemasks even after promising to do so since April, the Ekiti State that was not as much

impacted like the aforementioned two states has begun enforcement of wearing of facemasks. Ekiti State Government on Monday, July 20, begun aggressive enforcement of compulsory use of face masks and observation of physical distancing, with stiffer penalty awaiting defaulters to stem COVID-19 spread. It also stated that those found breaching the outlined protocols would be prosecuted with appropriate legal sanctions, such as fines and observation of community services imposed as punitive measures.

 

What Ekiti State government has done is commendable and should be emulated across the country if ever we are going to flatten the coronavirus curve and reduce the attendant spreads and deaths. The wearing of facemasks must be enforced and defaulters penalized to make any sense.