EVALUATION OF SOCILA MEDIA INFLUENCE ON THE OUTBREAK OF COVID-19 IN NIGERIA

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (CO VID-19) outbreak which emerged in Wuhan, China in the end of 2019, has claimed lives and damage to nation economy and has posed a huge threat to global public health. Several governments have implemented control measures including setting up special hospitals and travel restriction to mitigate its spread. Propose conceptual models for the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria with the consideration of individual behavioural reaction and governmental actions, such as travel restriction, stay at home, lock down, hospitalization, quarantine and others. Considering the internet as playing a leading role in providing platforms for the dissemination of health-related information. In this century, potential citizens are accessing the internet and social media applications to find and disseminate information regarding disease outbreaks and sharing their positive and negative experiences to inform societies. The study established among other things that Internet, social media, mobile phone, SMS are new ways o f communications that has been adopted and used worldwide. The study also found out that though social media helps distributing vital information as well as educating the public. Unfortunately, however, this comes with myriad misinformation. Public relations are expected to build and expand its strength on this global power phenomenon so as to impact positively on the people in all facets o f life by, creating, collaborating, communicating and disseminating healthcare and medical related information through the Word-of-Social-Media (WoSM) tools such as Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Blogs, Forums, YouTube, Google Plus, Linked ln, Photo and video sharing, Alexa and mobile applications. This will counter fake, distorted, or misinformation going round the society. The study established credibility o f sources among other challenges. The study suggested among others that the Nigerian Press Council should be strengthened; competent leadership entrenched and its mandate expanded to include regulation o f online media