Appolonia Adeyemi 
…says social distancing has failed
The President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Prof. Innocent Ujah said some of the coronavirus infections being recorded in the country would have been prevented if sufficient precautions were taken before the reopening of schools. Also, he lamented disregard for social distancing by Nigerians, saying this had contributed to the rising COVID-19 cases in the country as social distancing in the country had failed. Ujah, who disclosed this during a webinar organised by the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond, yesterday said the country was not adequately prepared when the schools were reopened.
He said: “When the government wanted to reopen the schools, I cautioned them and said if the schools must be reopened there must be necessary preparation to prevent the children from contracting the virus.
“One parent wrote the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 that I don’t want people to go to school and that I was being wicked. “Now, we all know better; a lot of children who sat for the last WASSCE were infected.
Today, some corps members have also been infected. “These are some of the things that could have been prevented if sufficient precautions were taken before reopening the schools. “Social distancing in my opinion has failed. Recall that during the campaign for the governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States, everyone was falling over each other. “If you go to the market places, social distancing protocol is not being observed. In that case, are we prepared? I think we need to do a lot of sensitization.”
