Adamawa State Government has made the wearing of face masks mandatory in government offices to stem the spread of the second wave of COVID-19 in the state.

Prof. Abdullahi Isa, the state Commissioner for Health, announced the development at a news conference on Tuesday in Yola.

Isa said that the action was necessary to curtail and prevent the spread of the disease in the state.

” Wearing of face mask now is compulsory for everyone at the state Secretariat, and it will extend to markets, worship places and motor parks.

“And government is making moves for the legislative arm to make a law making the wearing of face mask compulsory across the state,” Isa said.

On diagnosed cases of COVID-19 in the state, he said within the second week of January, about 573 cases were diagnosed and 26 deaths recorded.

He said that on a daily basis, about 100 suspected cases were being recorded from the 21 local government areas of the state.

The commissioner who noted that the wearing of face masks had improved among the public lamented low commitment toward social distancing and regular hand washing by the public.

He urged the public to abide by the non-pharmaceutical methods of COVID-19 prevention that included social distancing, regular hand washing and use of face masks.

Isa said that since the outbreak of the second wave of the disease, over 5,000 people had recovered from the disease in the state.

In his remarks, Dr Umar Pella, Commissioner for Information, said that COVID-19 is real.

Pella stressed the need for strict adherence to all the preventive measures.