The Edo State Government has urged employers of labour in the state not to lay off staff, but rather explore human-faced measures to support workers who are at home due to the restrictions imposed to halt the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, who made the appeal, said such measures were necessary because of the peculiarities of the fight against COVID-19, which has disrupted the world.
According to him, “I encourage employers not to lay off staff this period, but to explore human-faced measures to support employees during this crisis. This, my people, is a time to show love and a sense of community, so we can win this war as one united people driven by our common zeal to survive and thrive.”
The governor assured that the state government has put measures in place to check the spread of the virus and would continue to review the measures daily to ensure that it curtails the spread of the virus.
Noting that the state government has trained healthcare workers to attend to the dynamic changes required to arrest the spread of COVID-19, he said, “Health workers who are leading the fight against COVID-19 have now been trained, and they will man the first set of 50 screening centers, starting in the local government areas where we have experienced outbreak of coronavirus.”
“We want to screen up to 500,000 citizens in Edo over the next few weeks, and I am pleased to inform you that we now have 2 additional testing facilities in Benin City, where we plan to test up to 5,000 citizens. We will review our current policies when we obtain sufficient data and evidence from the screening and testing,” he added.
Noting that it was necessary to make sacrifices to check the spread of the virus, he said, “I want to use this opportunity to appeal to all citizens to join government to look out for, and take care of the most vulnerable and weakest persons in our communities.”
