COVID-19: Refusal to wear face mask a criminal offence –Iwu 

The Chairman of Imo State Task Force on COVID-19, Prof. Maurice Iwu, said on Tuesday it was a criminal offence for anybody not to wear a face mask considering the current surge in the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

He stated this in Owerri while briefing journalists on the recent activities of the task force in the state.

The task force chairman added that his team was in the Government House to present the report of the first phase of its activities to Governor Hope Uzodimma.

Iwu, who is a former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said the team had entered the second phase of the fight against the pandemic and called for more adherence to the COVID-19 protocols.

He said: “We have ended the first phase of our assignment which dealt mainly on the fight against the virus and preventing it from entering into the state and has handed the report to the governor.

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“The second phase is very important, but more dangerous which majors mainly on stopping community transmission of the virus with the involvement of every segment of the society.”

“People are yet to come to terms with the existence of COVID-19. They say they are yet to have the identity of people that have it, see them before they could believe, which is a very dangerous position to take.

“This second phase of the fight is critical and calls for people to observe the COVID-19 protocol of handwashing with soap under running water, use of alcohol-based sanitiser, social distancing, and the wearing of face mask.

“I want to say that it is criminal for one not to wear a face mask at this stage. It is not very okay to wear only the shield, but you have to combine it with a face mask for effectiveness.”

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