By M. Peter – Jos
The Nigeria Labour Congress/Civil Society Organizations, CSO COVID-19 Situation room in Plateau State has raised concerns about the inability of operators of public transportation to adhere safety protocols as they go about their businesses saying such are parts of the reasons COVID-19 disease is spreading fast in the State.
It was observed that despite various appeals and warnings by government, operators of tricycles and commercial vehicles do not adhere to instructions and are carrying more than the recommended number of passengers even when the State has recorded more than 300 confirmed cases and eight death.
Piqued by the development, the situation room in a statement jointly signed by Steve Aluko of CSOs and Paul Jatau of Labour as Chairman and Secretary respectively called on government to, as a matter of urgency, set up a special task force that would be saddled with the responsibility of enforcing the protocols on a daily basis until there is reduction in the spread of the virus, believing such would jolt the people out of their lackadaisical attitude towards obeying the protocols put in place by the NCDC and government.
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The duo stated, “The Labour/CSO Covid-19 Situation room on the Plateau appreciates the State Government for the measures taken since the relaxation of the lockdown measures. It welcomes the enforcement by government of the safety protocols put in place and encourages it to continue in that regard so as to guarantee the wellbeing of its citizenry. We welcome and acknowledge the closure of some institutions that failed to adhere to the protocols and call on government to do even more to bring defaulters to book.”
“More punishment should be meted out on those who refuse to observe and obey the protocols to deter others from doing same. Indeed, we are encouraged by the efforts of the State Ministry of Information and Communication for deploying its enlightenment vans to strategic locations spreading the COVID-19 message. The situation Room commends as well some institutions who put measures in place and were able to detect and consequently fumigated their premises while testing their staff to curb the spread of the pandemic.”
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“We encourage government, religious and other corporate institutions to put in place effective mechanisms in place to check, test and arrest further spread of the virus. As regards compliance, face masks which were hardly worn before the commencement of the enforcement has witnessed an appreciable increase.
However, tricycle operators seem to have scant regards for the NCDC protocols as they convey more than the recommended number of passengers who at most times do not even adorn the face masks. Commercial vehicle operators plying township roads scarcely do not obey the social distancing rule nor do they enforce the wearing of face masks.”
“The Situation Room therefore, calls on government to, as a matter of urgency, set up a specialize task force that would be saddled with the responsibility of enforcing the protocols on a daily basis until there is reduction in the spread of the virus. This to us will jolt the people out of their lacklustre attitude towards obeying the protocols put in place by the NCDC and government. Community leaders should further be engaged to carry messages on the dangers inherent in neglecting the protocols to their various communities.”
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The Situation Room also encouraged government to motivate those that would be engaged to enforce adherence to the protocols so as to dissuade them from turning blind eyes to those who observe the protocol in breach and further urged government to also take advantage of the network already established by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) which has offices spread across the nooks and crannies of the country in taking the COVID-19 message to the rural communities.
On the reopening of schools, the duo added, “Government should tow the part of Lagos State Government, which has started working out ways of ensuring the protection of students in the event that schools are reopened. We also suggest government looks at the Ghana model on the reopening of schools at the appropriate time,” even as they appealed to workers and CSOs to “rise to the occasion by leading the enlightenment drive and help curb the danger posed by the pandemic.”
