Role of social media in the Delay of Corona Virus (COVID-19) Spread in Kebbi State

Abstract

A mysterious pneumonia outbreak has been announced by the World Health Organization on 31 December 2019,
which was later known as COVID-19. COVID-19 is a novel virus that was then declared as pandemic due to its threat
to the entire world from its nature of transmission. Since the outbreak, the world has experienced an unexpected
threat with countless loss of lives across the globe. Despite the danger of COVID-19, many parts of the world
received insufficient or no information regarding the virus; its transmission prevention and effective handling once
someone is caught with the virus. Although various media sources such as newspapers, televisions, online forums,
and social media have been filled with abundant information related to COVID-19, hence, the need to investigate
the contributions of these media sources in the delay of spread of the virus through proper dissemination of COVID-
19 related information. This research aims at exploring the role of social media in controlling the COVID-19
pandemic in Kebbi state, Nigeria. A survey method was employed in gathering and analyzing data. The results
revealed that, majority of the Kebbi state citizens received educational information on the virus and its various
preventive measures through social media. The people of Kebbi state are fully aware and proactive towards the
major preventive measures against COVID-19 spread.