ADVERTISING AS A MAJOR TOOL APPLIED BY THE GOVERNMENT IN TACKLING CORONAVIRUS
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ADVERTISING AS A MAJOR TOOL APPLIED BY THE GOVERNMENT IN TACKLING CORONAVIRUS
Introduction:
Background to the Study
The novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), first discovered in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, has rapidly spread to almost every part of the world. SARSCoV-2, a new and severe type of Coronavirus, causes the disease.
The infection has no immediate treatment or vaccine, and the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2020) has declared it a worldwide pandemic, causing significant morbidity and mortality. As of April 9, 2020, there were 1,603,428 confirmed cases, 356,440 recoveries, and 95,714 deaths worldwide.
On February 27, 2020, an Italian citizen became the index case for COVID-19 in Nigeria, and as of April 9, 2020, there were 288 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria, 51 discharges, and 7 deaths (Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, 2020).
To prevent the virus from spreading further, the Nigerian government launched advertising and enlightenment campaigns to promote good hygiene and social distancing. Airports screened passengers’ temperatures, and those returning from countries with a high number of confirmed COVID-19 cases were advised to self-isolate.
The NCDC, in collaboration with State governments, began tracing and tracking potential victims and their contacts. On March 18, 2020, the Lagos State government suspended all gatherings of more than fifty people for four weeks and ordered all lower and middle-level public officers to remain at home (Ewodage, 2020). \
Similarly, on March 30, 2020, the Federal government implemented various containment strategies, including the closure of national borders and airspace, schools, worship centres, and other public places, the cancellation of mass gathering events, and the lockdown of the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos, and Ogun states for a period of fourteen days (Radio Nigeria, 2020).
Covid-19 testing laboratories were established in Lagos, Abuja, and Irrua in Edo State, while state governments opened isolation centres and imposed dawn-to-dusk curfews in their territories.
COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness from the Coronavirus family (others include SARS, H5N1, H1N1, and MERS), is spread through the eyes, nose, and mouth via droplets from coughs and sneezes, close contact with an infected person, and contaminated surfaces. Its incubation period ranges between one and fourteen days.
A laboratory test is used to diagnose symptoms such as cough, fever, and shortness of breath. The infection could cause severe respiratory issues or death, particularly in the elderly and those with underlying chronic conditions.
Some infected people, however, are virus carriers with no symptoms, and others may develop a mild illness and recover quickly (Sauer, 2020). Because there is presently no cure or vaccination for COVID-19, medical treatments are confined to supportive measures such as symptom relief and the utilisation of research medications and therapies.
To control the pandemic, it is necessary to understand infection pathways and take relevant precautions. While the scientific community continues to investigate potential vaccines or treatments for viral infection, it is predicted that sufficient knowledge will encourage individuals to make decisions that will prevent and control epidemics.
Regular hand washing, the use of hand sanitizers, the wearing of face masks, respiratory etiquettes, social distancing, and self-isolation when sick are all essential for reducing widespread infection (Leppin and Aro, 2009).
Studies (e.g., Brug, Aro, Oenema, de Zwart, Richardus, & Bishop, 2004; Choi & Yang, 2010; Hussain, Hussain & Hussain 2012) have shown that people’s understanding of an infectious disease can influence how they behave in order to avoid infection.
Individuals may need to be informed about the potential hazards of infections in order to adopt the right preventive measures (Brug, Aro, and Richardus, 2009).
Precautionary steps are required during the early stages of a pandemic to protect against potential hazards and limit disease spread. As a result, the Nigerian government (like with other governments across the world) implemented a variety of containment methods that disrupted people’s daily lives and resulted in significant economic loss and social disturbance.
People were forced to stay at home, while businesses and offices were closed, with the exception of healthcare services and important commercial establishments.
The shutdown threatens the livelihoods of Nigerians who work in the informal economy because much of their operations and companies require face-to-face contact.
In Nigeria, there is no social safety net, no access to food stamps or unemployment assistance, and most people make their living on a daily basis.
Despite this, there has been a high level of compliance with official recommendations; Nigerians are washing their hands frequently, adopting social distancing and self-isolation, and avoiding work, school, and busy areas.
Even most religious leaders decided to halt large meetings, prohibit handshakes, and advise church members to pray at home and use hand sanitizers (Makinde, Nwogu, Ajaja, & Alagbe, 2020; Olatunji, 2020).
On the other hand, some Nigerians prefer to pray (even violating the social distancing rule by attending churches or mosques during the lockdown) and use anointing oils, talismans, herbs, or rituals to avoid contracting and spreading the virus (Abati, 2020).
Some also use social media platforms (e.g., Whatsapp, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) to spread fear, project fake news about the virus’s origin, promote prejudice against China, incite panic buying, offer fake cures, and undermine medical advice, either intentionally or unintentionally (Hassan, 2020).
They believed that lockdown, self-isolation, and social distancing were un-African responses to the pandemic (Abati, 2020). Given the importance of understanding of preventive measures in preventing the spread of infectious diseases like the novel COVID-19, it is critical to conduct study on people’s health knowledge during this pandemic.
According to Richards (2017), increased public awareness of how to reduce the risk of catching the Ebola virus resulted in a dramatic decline in the number of cases of infection by mid-2015.
As a result, our goal in this study is to determine the extent of COVID-19 awareness among a sample of Nigerians, as well as their perceptions of the epidemic.
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