Lagos NMA says Nigerians’ nonchalant attitude responsible for second wave COVID-19 infections

The Nigerian Medical Association NMA, Lagos branch has lamented the nonchalant attitude of Nigerians, saying it is responsible for the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Adetunji Adenekan, the Chairman of the Lagos NMA, said this on Friday in a statement, titled, ‘Reflecting on the lesson of (the outgone) year 2020.’

The NMA Chairman also stressed the need for a high index of suspicion among health care professionals.

According to him, “We must state, with the utmost sense of responsibility, that the carefree or nonchalant attitude of the Nigerian public towards the COVID-19 protocols is largely responsible for the second wave of the pandemic.

A virologist, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, in an interview with The PUNCH live-streamed on Facebook on Wednesday, stated that there was mutation in the structure of COVID-19 with a new strain that spreads faster now found in Nigeria.

Tomori said the strain might lead to more infections and deaths if people failed to observe the necessary safety measures.

He said, “The latest I have read this morning (Wednesday) is that it seems to affect younger people a little more than before. This is an evolving thing and people are learning about it every day. So we have to keep our eyes open. It is difficult to predict (that it will lead to more deaths) but because it spreads faster and in an environment where people are not taking proper preventive measures, it means more people will get it.

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“How you react to it depends on individuals so it may lead to more deaths. The chances are that if the virus is affecting more people, we are likely to have more people dying.”