Wearing face mask is better than being on ventilator —NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has explained, why wearing face masks is better than being on ventilators amid the COVID-19 pandemic which has distorted social activities across the globe.

Director-General of the NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, who was speaking on Monday in Abuja at the 53rd joint national briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, said that it was better and less cumbersome for Nigerians to wear nose masks to curb the spread of COVID-19 disease in the country.

Dr Ihekweazu who was reacting to complaints by Nigerians that using face masks is stressful said that wearing face masks is less cumbersome and less stressful when compared to being on a ventilator.

“Wearing a mask may seem very cumbersome but I promise you that it is less cumbersome than being on a ventilator.

“Over the last few weeks, many of you may have heard stories of survivors but there are many stories that could have been told that you have not heard, stories of those that have passed away,” Ihekweazu said.

This came after the NCDC said that 250,000 Nigerians have so far been tested from the available 59 laboratories dedicated for COVID-19 tests.