The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the coronavirus pandemic has caused 42 per cent of workers in the country their job.
In its report titled “COVID -19 Impact Monitoring May 2019,” the Bureau noted : “The impact on employment and income have also been widespread. 42 per cent of respondents who were working before the outbreak reported that they were not currently working due to COVID-19.”
The report, which NBS posted on its website on Friday, said respondents are generally aware of important preventative measures against coronavirus such as handwashing (97 per cent), avoiding gatherings (90 per cent) and social distancing (89 per cent).
It added that many in the country are concerned about the health and financial impacts of the pandemic.
78 per cent of respondents were worried about themselves or their family members becoming seriously ill from the coronavirus while 92 per cent saw the coronavirus as a threat to their households finances.
According to NBS: “The impact on employment and income have also been widespread. 42 per cent of respondents who were working before the outbreak reported that they were not currently working due to COVID-19.
“The impact of COVID-19 has been most strongly felt in the commerce, service, and agriculture sectors. 79% of respondents reported that their households total income have decreased since mid-March.”
NBS said some households struggled to purchase staple foods like yam, rice and beans during the 7 days prior to the interview with 35-59 per cent of households who need to purchase these staple foods reporting that they were not able to buy them. 26 percent of households reported not being able to access medical treatment when they needed it during the same period.
It said experience of economic shocks in the few months after the outbreak of coronavirus far exceeds shocks experienced between 2017 and 2019.
The most widely reported shock experienced by households was an increase in prices of major food items faced by 85 per cent of households since the outbreak compared to only 19 per cent between January 2017 and January 2019.
The report said many households have struggled to cope with these widespread shocks with 51 oer cent of all households resorting to reducing food consumption.
The pandemic, according to NBS, has also affected children education. Among households with children attending school prior their nationwide closure in March, only 62 per cent reported that their children had engaged in any learning/educational activities since the closure.
