Effects of Social Distancing in Reducing the Spread of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Perspective of Bayelsan Residents in Nigeria

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2021, Volume 9, Issue 1, Pages: 264-267

J. Environ. Treat. Tech.

ISSN: 2309-1185

Journal web link: http://www.jett.dormaj.com

https://doi.org/10.47277/JETT/9(1)267

Effects of Social Distancing in Reducing the Spread

of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Perspective of Bayelsan

Residents in Nigeria

Ebibodere K. Baulch , Godwin P. Angaye *, Edmund D. Patani

Department of Haematology and Immunology, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Department of Biology, Bayelsa Medical University, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State

Received: 06/09/2020

Accepted: 13/11/2020

Published: 20/03/2021

Abstract

This research work essentially explored the efficacy of social distancing in reducing the spread of corona virus disease (COVID-19)

in Yenagoa metropolis. The objectives of this study were to examine the level of coronavirus disease and investigate whether social

distancing have help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The research design used for this study is survey, the

population targeted for this study consists of residents of Yenagoa. Four hundred (400) residents were used as sample size and cluster

sampling technique was applied. Instrument used for this study is the questionnaire. Results showed that the level of coronavirus disease

in Yenagoa metropolis was below average, and around 70% of respondents strongly agreed that social distancing can help reduce the

spread of COVID-19. Following these findings, it is recommended that social distancing and other aseptic measures should be ensured.

The study concludes that social distancing can help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19, Social distancing, Coronavirus, Pandemic, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Social distancing has been adopted as one of the key

Introduction

strategies and Government policy in reducing the spread of

COVID-19. The policy involves limiting person to person

contact, avoidance of hand shake, public gathering,

maintaining distancing not less than 1.5 meters and even

restriction of movement like lockdown, quarantining or curfew

as the case may be [8]. Although, these public health

restrictions have had a significant adverse socio-economic

impact on the populace [9, 10]. The efficacies of this social

restrictions are usually not adhered to or criticized in some

quota. Notwithstanding, the global impact of the pandemic

have been worrisome amidst some non-compliant critics.

Therefore, it has become necessary to sample the opinion of the

populace on the efficacies of social distancing in reducing the

spread of covid-19.

The first discovery of coronavirus, was the avian infectious

bronchitis virus in 1973, which was isolated by a virologist

called Fred Beaudette in 1937 [1]. This was followed in 2002

by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus

(

SARSCoV), and Middle East respiratory syndrome

coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the year 2012. In the year 2019 a

new strain of the SAR Coronavirus (COVIS-19) was

discovered in Wuhan, China. The global mobidity and

mortality burden of the disease have been so overwhelming

with over 400,000 cases and 20 000 mortalities from 194

countries [1, 2]. As documented in literature, Coronaviruses

(

CoVs) are positive-sensed single-stranded RNA viruses

belonging to the order Nidovirales, family Coronaviridae,

subfamily Orthocoronavirinae and four genera known as:

alpha, beta, delta, and gamma coronaviruses.

Furthermore, Alpha CoVs and beta CoVs originated from

bats and rodents while delta CoVs and gamma CoVs have their

origins from avian species [3]. The biggest threat of the

COVID-19 disease is the infectious nature, rapid spread and

grave health risk it poses, especially to persons of extreme ages

and underlining medical condition. COVID-19 virus primarily

spreads from person to person through direct contact with an

infected person [2]. Viral droplets are airborne and can be

released from the mouth or nose when an infected person when

he coughs or sneezes [4 – 6]. The virus can also spread when a

person touches a surface or object that has the virus on it and

then touches their mouth nose or mouth [7]. Recent studies

have shown that virus may remain in surfaces or objects for up

to 72 hours [2].

2 Materials and Method

2.1 Research Design

The study adopt survey as the research tool to provide

information on which decisions were made. The data were

sourced when by determining the answers to predetermined

from the respondents. This method offers opportunity for the

collation of facts from a wide range of respondents without

much expense. The use of survey is a favourable because it is

accurate, unstructured and can also capture time change.

2.2 Sampling Size and Techniques

The population included randomly selected residents of

Yenagoa metropolis in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The sample size

consists of 400 residents from the study population. The sample

Corresponding author: Godwin P. Angaye, Department of Biology, Bayelsa Medical University, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. E-mail:

maktarry@yahoo.com

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Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2021, Volume 9, Issue 1, Pages: 264-267

form a good representation of the population. This sample size

was used in order to generate a valid data from the population.

The cluster sampling technique was applied in splitting the

population into groups each of which may still contain

heterogeneous elements. Through random probability

sampling, a sample is then picked from each cluster in

accordance with the sampling plan, a simple random sampling

is used.

amongst the respondents were divorcee and widow/widower.

58.76

41.24

.3 Instrument for Data Collection

The instrument used for this study is the questionnaire. The

questionnaire consists of open and close ended questions to

guide the respondents in answering the questions it is relatively

easy to analyse. The format is familiar to most respondents to

think about their answers as they are not usually required to

reply immediately.

Male (161)

Female (227)

.4 Method of Data Collection

Data collected for this study were collected primarily with a

Figure 1: Sex of Respondents

self-administered questionnaire to the respondents, which was

retrieved from them after sampling. The instrument was

administered to 400 randomly selected residents in the study

area, so as to prevent the problem of bias.

Table 1: Age distribution of Respondents

Age Brackets

No. of respondent

Percentage (%)

0 – 29

0 – 49

199

111

49.22

38.54

.5 Validity/Reliability of Instrument

To ascertain the validity of the instrument, content validity

17.01

was adopted. The Content validity in most cases is measured

by relying on the knowledge of people who are conversant with

the concept being measured. A pilot was carried out to evaluate

the internal consistency of the instrument and this study took

place at selected areas which is outside the study area. A total

of thirty (30) respondents made up of male and female outside

the sample size (7.5% of the total sample size) were involved

in responding to the instrument due to their accessibility to

Bayelsa state.

Above 50

Total

7.47

388

100.00

Table 2: Marital Status of Respondents

Marital Status

No. of respondent

Percentage (%)

Single

245

103

63.14

Married

26.55

Divorcee

2.84

Widow/Widower

Total

2.43

.6 Method of Data Analysis

The results of the data collected were collated and

388

100.0

statistically analysed using simple percentage to find out the

extent of variation. Results were presented in tables and charts

to summarise the revealed facts, and to present them in such a

way that all the imported factors as contained.

98.19

100

Result and Discussion

A total of 400 copies of questionnaire were administered in

the area under study and 388 copies were retrieved from the

respondents. This represents 97% return rate. The demographic

characteristics of the Respondents is presented in Figure 4.1.

The response to Table 1 shows that 161 respondents

representing 41.24% were male, while 227 respondents

representing 58.76% were female (Figure 1). This shows that

the female responded more to the questionnaire than the male.

Result presented in Table 4.1 below reveals that 191

respondents representing 49.22% were within the age brackets

of 20 – 29, another 111 respondents representing 38.54% fell

between the age bracket of 30 – 39, 49 respondents representing

1.81

Yes (381)

No (7)

Figure 2: Respondents views on awareness of COVID-19

7.01% fell with the age brackets of 40 – 49 and 29 respondents

representing 7.47% had age bracket above 50 years (Table 1).

The result presented in Table 2 below for marital status of the

respondents showed that 245 respondents representing 63.14%

were single, 103 respondents representing 26.55% were

married, 11 respondents representing 2.84% was a divorcee,

while 7 respondents representing 2.43% were reported to be

either a widows or widowers. This result indicates that the

single respondents were above 50%, while least (<1.00%)

The awareness level of coronavirus disease in Yenagoa was

investigated (Figure 2). Result shows that 381 respondents

representing 98.19 % of the agreed that they have heard of

coronavirus disease, while the disease is still unknown to 7

respondents representing 1.81%. This is an indication most of

the populace are aware of the COVID-19. The source of

information on COVID-19 was investigated (Figure 3), and the

response rate showed that 143 respondents representing

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Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2021, Volume 9, Issue 1, Pages: 264-267

6.86% said that they heard of COVID-19 through television,

19 respondents representing 30.67% said that they heard of

Respondent views on how social distancing will help

reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria is presented in

Figure 4. The response shows that out of 388 respondents, 384

of them representing 98.96% agreed that they have heard of

Social distancing as a means of reducing the spread of the

COVID-19 pandemic, while only 4 respondents representing

COVID-19 from the radio, 118 respondents representing

0.41% said that they heard of COVID-19 through the social

media, while 8 respondents representing 2.06% said that they

heard of COVID-19 through other means (Figure 3).

.04% opined that social distancing cannot reduce the COVID-

9 pandemic (Figure 4). Based on the outcome of the result the

0.41,

6.86,

mantra of social distancing in reducing the spread of COVID-

19 have become a mainstay.

The result on if social distancing can help reduce the spread

of COVID-19 shows that 274 respondents representing

0.62% of the agreed that Social distancing can help reduce the

spread of COVID-19 in Yenagoa, 89 respondents representing

2.94% of the respondent agreed that social distancing and

Social distancing can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in

Nigeria, 16 respondents representing 5.56% of the respondent

disagreed that social distancing and Social distancing can help

reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria, while 9 respondents

representing 2.32% strongly disagreed that social distancing

and Social distancing can help reduce the spread of COVID-19

in Yenagoa. This result implies that social distancing can help

reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

Prior to this study, two research questions were developed to

direct the course of this study. Also, the questions in the

questionnaire were designed in a way that it tallies with the

research question and at this point, the research questions of the

study have been tested in relation to the responses of the

respondents to the relevant questions on the questionnaire. The

respondents 150 (38.66%) agreed that the level of coronavirus

disease in Yenagoa serious, 146 (37.63%) respondents opined

that the level of coronavirus disease in Nigeria was normal, 73

0.76,

Radio (143)

Social Media (118)

Television (119)

Others (8)

Figure 3: Respondents source of Information

Table 3: Respondents views on COVID-19 rate in Bayelsa

Ratings

No. of respondent Percentage

Serious

Normal

Average

Mild

150

146

38.66%

37.63%

18.81%

4.90%

Total

388

100.00%

(

18.81%) of the respondents said that the level of coronavirus

As presented in Table 3, the response shows that 150

respondents representing 38.66% opined that the level of

coronavirus disease in Bayelsa as compared to other states of

the Nigeria is serious, 146 respondents representing 37.63%

said that the level of coronavirus disease in Bayelsa is

comparable to other states is normal, 73 respondents

representing 18.81% of the respondents said that the level of

coronavirus disease in Bayelsa was average compared to other

states, while 19 respondents representing 4.90% of the

respondents said that the level of coronavirus disease in

Bayelsa was mild compared to other states. This means that the

level of coronavirus disease in Bayelsa is comparable to other

states in Nigeria (Table 3).

disease in Yenagoa was average, and 19 (4.90%) of the

respondents said that the level of coronavirus disease in Nigeria

was mild.

This means that the level of coronavirus disease in Bayelsa

is comparable to other states. This is consistent with the

findings of Ugochukwu et al. (2015) which revealed that the

epidemic resulted in increased knowledge of the disease as well

as some misconceptions, increase in household and community

hygiene practice and change in social interaction between

affected individuals and the community. Prompt response by

the government, with the support of international partners and

proactive engagement of public health measures resulted in the

rapid control of the epidemic; an experience the country hopes

to leverage upon in subsequent epidemics. This goes in line

with the infectious disease transmission mechanism theory

which assumes that infectious disease dynamics consist of

transmission as the main dynamic disease process at each

hierarchical level. The second research question was answered

in Table 4. Table 4 showed that 274 (70.62%) respondents

strongly agreed that social distancing can help reduce the

spread of COVID-19 in Yenagoa, 89 (22.94%) of the

respondents agreed that social distancing can help reduce the

spread of COVID-19, 16 (4.12%) of the respondent disagreed

that social distancing can help reduce the spread of COVID-19,

while another 9 (3.13%) of the respondents strongly disagreed

that social distancing can help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

This implies that social distancing can help reduce the spread

of COVID-19 in Nigeria. This is consistent with the findings of

Ugochukwu et al. [10] which revealed that the epidemic

resulted in increased knowledge of the disease as well as some

misconceptions, increase in household and community hygiene

practice and change in social interaction between affected

individuals and the community.

Yes (384)

No (4)

Figure 4: Respondent view on whether they have heard of social

distancing as a means of reducing COVID-19

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2021, Volume 9, Issue 1, Pages: 264-267

Prompt response by the government, with the support of

international partners and proactive engagement of public

health measures resulted in the rapid control of the epidemic;

an experience the country hopes to leverage upon in subsequent

epidemics. This is in line with the infectious disease

transmission mechanism theory. These models have been used

to aid understanding of infectious disease transmission

dynamics and increase our capabilities for control of infectious

diseases with fewer resources.

Johnson, C. Y.; Sun, L.; Freedman, A. (2020). "Social distancing

could buy U.S. valuable time against coronavirus: It's a make-or-

break moment with coronavirus to test one of the most basic—but

disruptive—public health tools". The Washington Post. Archived

from the original on 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2020-03-11.

Hensley, L. (2020). "Social distancing is out, physical distancing

is in—here's how to do it". Global News. Corus Entertainment Inc.

Archived from the original on 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2020-03-29.

Centers for Disease Control-CDC (2016) "Infection Control:

Frequently Asked Questions – Hand Hygiene". Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention. Retrieved 30 September 2016.

Ugochukwu, U. O., Uchechi, C. E., Chuku, A., & Huldah, I. N.

Conclusions

This study has underscored the efficacy of social distancing

(2015). Ebola epidemic - the Nigerian experience. The Pan African

Medical Journal. 2015;22 (Supp 1), 17.

in reducing the spread of COVID-19 disease in Bayelsa State,

Nigeria. Findings from this research uncovered that the

infectious epidemic has great socioeconomic effect on the

populace, and although that social distancing was found to have

efficacy in reducing the spread of the disease. Beyond the

public health impact, the pandemic has socioeconomic

consequences that needs prompt palliative measures. Prompt

response by the government, and health care providers needs to

be proactive to ensure rapid control of the epidemic.

Aknowledgment

The authors wish to than Dr. Tariwari Angaye for the

experimental design and editorial inputs to review this article.

Ethical issue

Authors are aware of, and comply with, best practice in

publication ethics specifically with regard to authorship

(

avoidance of guest authorship), dual submission, manipulation

of figures, competing interests and compliance with policies on

research ethics. Authors adhere to publication requirements

that submitted work is original and has not been published

elsewhere in any language.

Competing interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that

would prejudice the impartiality of this scientific work.

Authors’ contribution

All authors of this study have a complete contribution for

data collection, data analyses and manuscript writing.

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