COVID-19: Fears In Cross River Over Cameroon

By Ebere Levi

Cross River state capital, Calabar remains safe from the ravaging global pandemic, Coronavirus, code-named COVID-19, even as residents continue to adopt measures against the scourge.

Keep Your Hands

Handshake is now virtually a taboo in the capital, as people resort to sign, and in most cases, elbow greetings.

Social Distancing is also strictly adhered to in the state. Last week, a young man who stretched out his hand to greet a friend at an Eatery located at Mariam Road, got the shock of his life when the friend ignored him, jokingly telling him, “keep your hand to yourself”

Tuesday, the state Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, inaugurated a COVID-19 Response Team, a Taskforce charged with ensuring that Cross River remains free from the pandemic.

In line with strict preventive measures introduced by the state government, the inauguration was done at an open field in the governor’s office complex as opposed to the usually over-crowded Executive Chambers of the governor’s office.

Nose and face masks are adorned by almost all Calabar residents, young and old, including government officials.

At the inauguration of the COVID-19 Response Team, the Governor announced that from next week, nobody would be allowed on the streets of Calabar without wearing nose and face masks.

Monday, Ayade recalled workers of the state-owned Calabar Garment Factory for the mass production of the masks. The workers had, last week, been sent home as a result of the partial lockdown of the state announced by the government.

Hemmed in from virtually all corners of the state by the Republic of Cameroon, which is currently battling the scourge, and Ebonyi state where suspected cases have been reported, people of the state are apprehensive, and are calling on the federal government for special intervention.

Professor Ayade joined in the appeal Tuesday during the inauguration: “Cross River is an international border state, and with the incident in Cameroon, I call on President Muhammadu Buhari, I call on the Minister of Health to treat Cross River in a very peculiar way. We need the obvious and express attention of the federal government”

The governor announced the release of N500m and 20 vehicles to support the activities of the Respons team, saying it was the desire of his administration to ensure Cross River remained Covid 19-free.

While charging the task force which is headed by the youthful Commissioner for Health, Dr.Betta Edu, Ayade said: “You are all aware that there is no unanimity about the history of this global pandemic but Cross River, as a state governed by two Professors, we must find ways and provide a leading direction at the sub-national level.

It is, therefore, our desire to ensure that Cross River continues to maintain zero incidence as far as this pandemic is concerned.”

Spelling out the mandate of the taskforce, Ayade said: “To achieve this, we are hereby setting up this Taskforce whose core mandate is to guarantee the full implementation of the lockdown of our borders to ensure that medicines, food supplies and welfare packages are made available to our people.

“We are sensitive to the challenges of locking down a state where people have barely earned their last salary, therefore, the social sensitivity of our lockdown must reflect in the subsequent actions we take. Against this background, I’m setting up a this taskforce with subcommittees. As I said before, this taskforce is to realise a COVID-19- free Cross River.”

Governor Ayade lamented the effect of partial lock down on the people of the state but assured of palliative measures to cushion the effects.

“Let me inform you, also, that we have recalled workers at the garment factory for the mass production of face and nose masks to protect our citizens.

“The closure of our borders no doubt has come with adverse consequences for our people. I have a moral obligation to give our people protection. With a heavy sense of burden, with spiritual consciousness that I have a responsibility to those who in search of their daily living have been affected by this border closure. It is against this background therefore, that I’m asking the Chairman of this taskforce to expedite action in ensuring that in all of those border points, proper screenings must take place so that all those who are free must get all the necessary medical supplies- sanitizers, nose masks etc.

“We are going to release the sum of N500m in the first instance. I will like to announce also that we have received the sum of N28M from UBA, we are also going to get support from Zenith Bank and First Bank. We hope that other corporate organisations will at this time come to our rescue.”

According to the governor, “As a state whose last allocation was little above N1b, Cross River cannot afford to have even a single COVID 19 incident, so prevention indeed is better than cure. And to achieve this, public fumigation of public centres becomes imperative.

Ayade further charged members of the Response Team: “You are also to ensure that citizens have access to food, access to livelihood because after the Coronavirus comes humanity. And so we must be careful so that we don’t create social vices- increased in criminality because of lack of food.That is why the Food Bank Director- General must recognize that food supplies to the various local governments are essential.”

He mandated all his Commissioners to ensure that food supplies from the Cross River Food Bank get to their local governments: ” I use this opportunity to announce that all Commissioners are the Food Coordinating officers, supplies coordinating officers for their various local governments areas”