Six in 10 Africans believe that coronavirus could be prevented by drinking lemon or taking Vitamin C, a survey conducted by the Partnership for Evidence-Based Reponses to COVID-19 (PERC) Consortium reveals.
The result of the survey conducted between March and April in 28 cities across 20 African Union member states was released during a Webinar hosted Thursday by Gatefiled for journalists to enhance coronavirus reportage.
The survey also showed that less than half of the people interviewed about COVID-19 believed they are at risk of contracting the virus while 40 per cent of the responders believed that Africans could not get COVID-19.
The consortium is made up of public health organizations such as the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention; Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies; the World Health Organization; the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team; and the World Economic Forum and private sector firms such as market research company, Ipsos.
Dr Emmanuel Agogo from Resolve to Save Lives said that though Africa’s COVID-19 numbers have been lower than the rest of the world, it was important to identify the common trends, issues and attitudes across the phases of the outbreak.
“Outbreaks and pandemics come in various phases. We need to keep vigilant. COVID-19 will hit rural areas and villages later than urban centres,” he said.
