Anambra state governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has warned the populace against undermining the World Health Organisation (WHO) COVID-19 protocols including social distancing, face masks, hand washing and hand sanitiser especially the period lockdown had been lifted.
Obiano, who gave the warning at inauguration of 47-member Disability Community COVI-19 Response Team, held in Awka, the state capital, argued that easing lockdown was not an end to the pandemic but an opportunity for all to join effort in containing it.
The governor, represented by his Special Adviser on Disability Matters, Bar. Chuks Ezewuzie, explained that the special response team would help the government to easily reach out to the persons with disabilities in all their activities and programmes on coronavirus.
The team has a steering committee and six subcommittees such as Information and Communication, Medical Outreach and Rehabilitation, Palliative and Welfare, Contact and Mobilization, Fund raising, Security and Statistics selected from the executive members of disability cluster associations in the state.
Also speaking, a member of the State Action Committee against COVID-19 and Special Adviser to governor Obiano on Indigenous Medicine and Herbal Practices, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim, assured the team that the administration was responsive and ever ready to protect the interest of physically challenged persons always.
Responding, the Chairman and the Secretary of the committee, Comr. Ugochukwu Okeke and Mr Elias Chukwuma, expressed happiness that formation and inauguration of the team came barely a week after the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) visited all COVID-19 Protective and Surge centres in Anambra state to confirm its accessibility to disability persons.
“We thank his Excellency for always responding to our needs. JONAPWD during the visit sponsored by the European Union’s through the Rule of Law and Anticorruption (RoLAC) Programme bemoaned on the unfriendly nature of some of the protective centres in the State and our exclusion from COVID-19 State Action Committee. We are happy that he responded immediately. We want to assure him that we will never relent in delivering our mandate ,” said Okeke, who is also the state Chairman of JONAPWD.
