Why Have We Stopped Wearing Face Masks?
With the daily surge in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria, it is worrisome to see a decline in adherence to the healthcare guidelines given by the authorities to curb the spread of the virus. Weeks after the ease of the total lockdown, compliance to the use of face masks and social distancing rules is rapidly declining as people continue to exist in their imaginary COVID-19-free bubble, oblivious to the reality of the rising numbers.
The coronavirus is known to spread through droplets of saliva and discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It may also spread via contact with infected objects and surfaces. To protect ourselves from the virus, experts advise proper hand hygiene, social distancing, and habitual use of a face mask in public places. For this reason, government and organizations are running campaigns and stentorian advisories on the ubiquitous use of face masks.
Why then are people jettisoning the use of face masks despite the accelerating rise in cases?
Delusion of reprieve
In his book, Man’s search for meaning, Austrian psychiatrist and holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl, references a very interesting psychological concept: the delusion of reprieve. Recounting the gruesome experience in the concentration camp during World War II. Frankl tells of…
