Some residents of Abakaliki, Ebonyi, have stressed the need to avail citizens with more information on the coronavirus disease ravaging the global community.
The residents who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki in separate interviews, described information as key and indispensable in the fight and prevention of the disease.
NAN reports that COVID-19 which started in Wuhan, China has been designated a ‘global pandemic’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The residents said that there were misleading information about the virus promoted especially through the social media.
They stressed that government should intensify sensitisation to create more awareness on the disease, its mode of transmission, symptoms and preventive measures.
Mr John Onwe, a laboratory scientist said that the social media report alleging that the virus could not survive on high temperature was part of misleading information about the virus.
He said that studies on the virus had revealed that the disease could thrive on any environment and urged people to disregard such information and protect themselves from contracting the disease.
“Coronavirus is a deadly virus that can affect any individual exposed to it irrespective of environment; hence it can affect those in the temperate and hot regions of the earth.
“What we need is proper information to the people to enhance their knowledge about the virus so that they can adopt a better approach to avoid contracting the virus,” Onwe said.
He advocated the establishment of six isolation centres to be located in the six geopolitical zones of the country to enhance emergency response to the disease and treatment of confirmed cases.
Mr Ikechukwu Azu, a pharmacist at the Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital, urged government to equip capacity of health professionals through training and retraining to enable them acquire better skills to handle emerging health emergencies.
Azu appealed to Ebonyi Government to adopt proactive measures to safeguard the state from the virus.
“I am appealing to the state government to adopt sensitisation and advocacy plans as a proactive step to prevent the disease from entering the state.
“Since there is yet no reported case of the virus in the state, government should be more proactive and ensure that local and foreign tourists who are coming into Ebonyi either for business or pleasure are examined and declared free from the virus.
“Government should take sensitisation to churches, schools, markets and mosques to ensure that citizens are properly equipped with enough information about the COVID-19,” Azu said.
Another respondent, Mr Paul Elom, who went spiritual explained that the virus was more spiritual than the world could imagine, and urged Nigerian authority to declare a day of prayer to seek the face of God on the disease. (NAN)
