In the wake of the Edo State Government’s charge for security agencies to enforce the stay-at-home order and the social distancing policy in public spaces, the state has trained members of the Edo State Public Works Volunteers (PUWOV) Scheme and other law enforcement agencies on civil engagement with residents to guard against incidents of molestation and harassment.
The Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, disclosed this in a television interview monitored in Benin City, the state capital.
Shaibu noted that though the state government has ordered for full compliance with the directive to stay at home, as well as closure of markets, it was imperative to ensure that Edo residents are not molested.
According to him, “We do not want our people to be molested. We are deploying persuasion and liaising with the religious and traditional rulers so that they can talk with their people to ensure that the message is understood. At the local level, people are being sensitised through town criers and other local communication mechanisms.”
On the state government’s preparedness to attend to more cases of coronavirus in the state, he said the Stella Obasanjo Hospital in Sapele Road, Benin City, has been repurposed to serve as a holding and isolation centre for coronavirus cases in the state.
He reiterated that the state government is ensuring that all hands are on deck to check the spread of coronavirus in the state, adding that the training of health workers is progressing swiftly.
Some of the measures taken to stem the spread of COVID-19 include the signing of the state’s Quarantine Regulations 2020 to ratify measures to restrict movement, closure of markets, with only sellers of food items, medicines and other vital commodities allowed to operate; ban on gatherings of more than 20 persons; strict seating guidelines in public buses and proper documentation of passengers by transporters; checks on recent travel history of clients by hoteliers, among others.
Residents have also been urged to adhere to precautionary measures and other hygienic practices against the spread of the virus, while new seating arrangements have been mandated for transporters, which stipulates that cars must carry one passenger in front and two at the back; while buses load one passenger in front and two in each row.
