Pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases in Nigeria amidst prevailing socio-cultural beliefs and practices: Implication for COVID-19 transmission and way forward

Abstract

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with diverse range of cultural and religious beliefs and practices vis-à-vis health seeking behaviour. The country is currently one of the nations in the African region that is most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the active outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, this paper discussed how key socio-cultural beliefs and health behaviour coupled with pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic clinical presentation of COVID-19 cases could foster the spread of the disease and recommendations for control.