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COVID-19 is a benign to acute respiratory illness which is caused by a coronavirus (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 of the genus Betacoronavirus), chiefly transmitted by contact with infectious material (such as respiratory droplets) or with objects or surfaces which are contaminated by the causative virus, and is particularly characterized by fever, cough, and shortness of breath and can progress to pneumonia and respiratory failure (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2020). The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has become worrisome in the world at large. COVID-19 first emerged and was diagnosed in Wuhan, Huebi Chinain November, 2019 and has been linked to the Huanan Seafood Market (South China) and the infection has spread to several countries around the world (Wang, Horby, Hayden & Goa, 2020). Due to the widespread of COVID-19 in many countries around the world, the World Health Organisation (WHO), through its Director General (Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus) at a media briefing on COVID-19 on 11th March, 2020, officially declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic (World Health Organisation, 2020a). Ebhraim, Saif, Buheji, AlBasri, Al-Husaini, and Jahrami (2020) asserted that efforts have been directed by World Health Organisation towards ensuring appropriate levels of preparedness and response to combat the disease effectively and efficiently to manage the ramifications associated with the outbreak.
There has been profound impact of COVID-19 on women and girls in Africa as they are disproportionately affected by lockdowns which have resulted in reduced access to health and other services, economic hardship, increased gender-based violence among others(WHO, 2020b).
Information seeking, according to Igwe (2012), is an individual way or manner of gathering and sourcing information for personal use, knowledge updating and development. The society is trying to keep safe and stay healthy to ensure that the pandemic does not claim more lives by ensuring they get the necessary information about the pandemic and utilize it well. According to Warner and Procaccino (2004), women tend to be the primary seeker of information for their children and other family members as well as for themselves. Women are the caretaker of the families and it is of necessity that they are equipped with the relevant information on COVID-19 in order to protect themselves, their families and others from the pandemic and be able to the handle situations in case one or more of its members have contacted it or suspected of being infected with them.
Delta State is one of the thirty six states of Nigeria. It is located in the southern part of the country. Due to the strategic location of Delta State, there is regular influxes of people into the state on a daily basis, and due to the continuous spread of the disease, the Delta State House of Assembly called on the State Government to intensify the sensitisation of of the populace on the effects of this deadly disease, that proper sensitization was needed to put some certain measures in place to contain the spread; that the people needed to know and be aware of how to take precautionary measures against the disease (Vanguard Media Limited, 2020). The State Government embarked on measure to control and combat the spread of the pandemic, such as creating awareness on the disease and its prevention via the print, electronic and social media, - wearing of noise mask, ensuring that buckets of water, liquid soaps, hand sanitizers are placed at the entry of each organisation, maintaining social distance etc. Accordingly, Oliver, Lepri, Sterly, Renavel… et al (2020), due to the outbreak of the pandemic, there were bans on large gathering, non essential business, closure of schools and universities, international and domestic mobility restrictions, physical isolation and total lockdowns of regions and countries.by the spread