ABUJA, April 2 — Nigerian authorities on Friday said the rules on the use of face masks have been relaxed nationwide, noting that people are not required to wear masks in outdoor places following the continuous downward trend of COVID-19 cases in the country.
Face masks are still recommended for indoor activities or other high-risk settings, Ifedayo Adetifa, head of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, told reporters.
He said Nigeria had implemented a four-tier consolidation phase of the COVID-19 pandemic response, which focused on continued surveillance, genomic sequencing, surge testing, and vaccination, stressing that masks remain a significant public health safety measure.
“Proper mask use reduces the probability of transmission between an individual who is infectious and one who is susceptible to infection and helps protect those with a high risk of infection and severe disease,” he explained.
Adetifa said vaccination should be complemented with other safety measures, such as mask-wearing. (Xinhua)
Nigeria relaxes rules on mask wearing
