A virologist, Prof Oyewale Tomori, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to lead by example by wearing face mask in public.
Tomori also said people should not wait for the President to do so before they protect themselves.
He said, “I agree that he (the President) is a role model for all of us. You see countries where leaders have not really taken full control and we see what is happening. Trump got infected and luckily for him he survived, but see the situation in America now.
“There are other countries where their leaders on a daily basis come out and tell their people to wear the masks while they also wear theirs and lead by example. That is what we need from our President. He should wear a mask as an example and role model to all of us and then other people would believe it.”
The virologist also cautioned that despite the expectation of receiving vaccines, it was best for people to guard against being infected.
“We all know that the most important part of protection is the prevention, not you getting vaccine. So, if you prevent it you don’t have any problem,” he added.
Tomori also stressed that the country was not conducting enough tests, adding that Nigerians could only have seen a tip of the iceberg.
He said, “The real number of COVID-19 cases that we have in Nigeria is a lot more than the figures from the laboratories and test centres. South Africa with about 60 million people has tested about six million people and so some people think South Africa has more cases than Nigeria. No, the issue is that we are not testing enough.”
Meanwhile, the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, said there was a need for everyone to play their part in flattening the curve.
He added, “As you are well aware, we are now well into the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak and now more than ever, we have do double up. We have to keep this second wave as well controlled as possible.”