A Preliminary Assessment of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Knowledge and Perceptions in Nigeria

Peter O OLAPEGBA; Olusola AYANDELE; Samson Olowo KOLAWOLE; Rotimi OGUNTAYO; Joshua Chiroma GANDI; Abdullahi Lawal DANGIWA; Iboro Friday Akpan OTTU; Steven Kator IORFA

The findings also identified the mass media as the major sources of information about COVID-19 which is similar to a study conducted during the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong (Lau, Yang, Tsui, & Kim, 2003) . Likewise Vartti, Oenema, Schreck, Uutela, de Zwart, Brug, and Aro (2009) and Voeten, de Zwart, Veldhuijzen, Yuen, Jiang, Elam and Brug (2009) confirmed that the traditional media provide vital information during outbreaks. However, it contradicted Rolison and Hanoch (2015) which revealed that the internet is the premier source of knowledge during an outbreak. The media should be intensively used by governmental and non-governmental agencies to provide regular enlightenment on proper social distancing, correct personal hygiene and usage of personal protective equipment to ensure compliance with the WHO approved strategies for curbing the pandemic.