Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by Coronavirus 2 of Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) is one of the major pathogens that primarily target the human respiratory system.Unusual measures have been embraced to control the rapid spread of the virus. Adherence of people to the control measures put in place is affected by their knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) towards COVID-19. In this study, we investigated the KAP towards COVID-19 in residents of Ado-Odo, Ota, Ogun State from April 27 to May 5, 2020.A self-developed KAP questionnaire was administered and completed by 250 consenting participants. The knowledge questionnaire consisted of 21 questions regarding the clinical characteristics and prevention of COVID-19. Assessments on residents' attitudes and practices towards COVID-19 included questions on avoiding crowded environments, confidence in winning the battle against COVID-19, wearing masks when going out amongst others. The survey was completed (n=250) and analysed using descriptive statistics. The respondents included both males (49.2%) and females (50.8%) aged 16yrs and above with different levels of education. Knowledge scores significantly differed across genders, agegroups, categories of marital status, education levels. More than half (53.6%) believed that the Nigerian government is taking appropriate steps to win that battle against COVID-19. Also, 67.2% of the respondent agreed that the virus could be successfully controlled. About 33.2% of the study respondents stated that they had gone out during the on-going pandemic mostly to the local market to buy food out of which 75.9% wore a face mask as a precautionary means. The highest proportions of correct responses were for questions assessing modes of transmission and symptoms of COVID-19. It was observed that traditional media (TV/Radio) and social media (What Sapp) are the most common source of health information about COVID-19. From the findings revealed in this study, it is critical to improving the knowledge and perceptions of people to prevent the community spread of infection as the global threat of COVID-19 continues to rise