#MaskUpLagos – Are Face Masks Enough to Protect Lagosians Since Social Distancing Isn’t Working?

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As Lagosians returned to work amidst rising COVID-19 cases, the course of action prescribed by the government is to wear protective face cover and ensure social distancing. In a state as densely populated as Lagos, many are concerned about the efficacy of these measures.

As people went about their different duties, they still found time to hop onto social media and share their experiences without bothering about social distancing.

What people say about masking up..

As face masks have become the new order of the day, people have turned up the innovation in creating masks that work for them. Whether these masks are efficient is another matter entirely.

Suggested read: How soon can Nigeria start manufacturing its own ventilators?

From cap and mask combinations to disposable paper nose masks, and the use of the Holy Bible, here are some of the unexpected ways people have created their own masks.

Since the wearing of face masks has been made compulsory by the government, there were tweets encouraging people to follow stick to their masks and sharing tips on how to make their own masks.

The social distancing experience today..

While people have made visible efforts at having their face masks on while in public, the same cannot be said for social distancing. From the images, it is clear that people are not taking social distancing serious when out in public. This makes one wonder if the number of Covid-19 cases won’t skyrocket in the coming days.

This mass gathering is not unexpected, particularly because of the population and traffic challenge that Lagos is notorious for. Hoards of people battle for seats on the same bus, office workers rush to avoid being late for work. In most cases, it is a battle of the swiftest.

While some people may not take public transport to offices, they will, however, likely come into contact with other colleagues or even clients who did. The potential number of people that can be linked to one COVID-19 carrier has been shown by previous cases to be many.

The major course of action is still to take all necessary health precautions and to practice social distancing, while maintaining a healthy immune system. However, tweets from today show that transportation is one of the major hindrances to the success of these health precautions.

https://twitter.com/Fulanihausa1/status/1257295580625338369

Transportation is majorly limited to buses, taxis, and BRTs on the major roads. Tricycles are restricted to certain roads. Bike-hailing could have helped but bikes, in general, are banned from the state at this time

While the bikes may not be a part of the megacity plan, they could have been a very effective aide in ensuring social distancing. However, following the policy of the Lagos state government, motorbikes are not allowed in the major areas of the state, which is where most office workers need to get to.

With the COVID-19 riding on the waves of Lagos state transportation challenge, it begs the question, would the Government have made a different decision if COVID-19 had reached the country earlier?


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