The Edo State Government has called on all citizens and stakeholders to support the government’s efforts at preventing a third wave of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and ensuring the health of the people.
Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Health, Dr. Osamwonyi Irowa, who spoke to journalists in Benin City, urged for cooperation with the various strategies put in place by the government in its efforts at containing the first and second wave of the pandemic.
“We can work together to contain the ongoing pandemic, save lives, ensure continuity of livelihoods and come out strong as a state. Let us stand and work together to defeat COVID-19 as we have done previously in the first and second wave,” Irowa charged.
Noting the government has ramped up its mass vaccination campaign, as part of efforts to contain the pandemic, he said over 36,000 eligible persons, including health workers, strategic leaders and other frontline staff, have so far been vaccinated in the first phase of the exercise.
The Permanent Secretary, who decried the consistent decline in the level of compliance to guidelines to contain COVID-19 in the state, reiterated the need for all citizens to ensure adherence with non-pharmaceutical interventions and government’s directives.
Irowa noted: “We have noticed consistent decline over the past one month in the level of compliance of our citizens to the correct and proper use of face masks, hand washing practices and strict observance of physical distancing measures; this poses a risk for spread of coronavirus.
“We urge everyone to complement the government’s efforts at containing the pandemic and preventing a third wave of the virus by taking responsibility and adhering to guidelines to curtail the spread of the virus across all our communities.”
