General Secretary for AKOCCA (left) presents the PPEs to the MCE (right)
The Birim Central Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Victoria Adu, has asked parents not to allow children below 18 years to sell nose masks in the principal streets of Akyem Oda and its environs.
She has cautioned that children who will be seen on the streets selling nose masks will be arrested by the Police. This is because, she says, such children can end up contaminating the masks and, thus, contribute to the spread of the novel coronavirus to innocent and unsuspecting customers.
Mrs Adu said this when members of the Akyem Oda Concerned Citizens Association (AKOCCA) donated some Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) to the Birim Central Municipal Health Directorate to support the fight against Covid-19 in the area.
The Municipal Director of Health services, James Avoka, announced that the Municipal Public Health Emergency Management Committee is set to meet market queens in Akyem Oda for a final decision on the need to practice social distancing at various markets in the municipality. He indicated that the assembly and the health directorate will be forced to close down the markets with immediate effect if the people refuse to adhere to social distancing and other Covid-19 protocols.
Call for sanctions
Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of AKOCCA, Kwasi Frimpong, has called for investigation and sanctions in respect of reported cases of PPEs theft by some health officials. His call follows reports by the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, that investigations have revealed that some health practitioners have been stealing PPEs donated to the various health facilities.
“People are not donating because they are rich. Individuals, institutions, government and organisations are presenting these PPEs out of their limited resources because they understand that we are in a health crisis and all hands must be on board to fight it. This is not the time for some people to seek to gain privately from people’s predicament. Such unscrupulous people should not have space in the midst of humans,” he said.
The items donated by the group include hand sanitisers, liquid soaps, tissues, nose masks, boxes of bottled water, among others.
Residents’ worry
Meanwhile, some residents in the area have expressed worry about confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the area. The first confirmed case, according to the Municipal Health Directorate, involves a man who was in self-isolation at Akwatia but ran to hide at Akyem Aboabo. He was later picked up by health officials and the Police, and samples of people he had come in contact with were sent to Noguchi for testing. As of May 10, the number of cases in the area had increased to two.
The residents stated that life in the area is becoming scary, assuring the authorities that they are ready to abide by all safety measures that will be tailored to the area while also observing all global precautionary measures.
