Background: Pandemics present major challenges for clinical and public health agencies as well as policymakers. The scientific and medical uncertainty surrounding emerging viruses such as COVID-19 contributes to increased morbidity and mortality rates. Consequently, it is important to evaluate public perceptions regarding social distancing, lockdown obligations, and satisfaction with government responses during the pandemic.
Methods: This cross-sectional study employed an anonymous online questionnaire distributed through social media platforms. The survey was conducted among social media users between April 1 and April 30, 2020. A snowball sampling technique was used to recruit participants, yielding a total of 1,131 respondents.
Results: Nine out of ten respondents believed that social distancing was an effective measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, eight out of ten agreed with lockdown measures. However, only 36.8\% of respondents felt that their government was doing enough to contain the outbreak, and just 25\% expressed satisfaction with the country’s overall response. Age was found to be significantly associated with satisfaction regarding emergency response efforts.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that the Nigerian public largely accepted social distancing as an effective method to curb the spread of COVID-19 and showed general acceptance of lockdown measures. Nevertheless, more than half of the respondents reported dissatisfaction with the responses of the government and related agencies during the pandemic.