As the number confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Bayelsa state increased from 32 to 177 in one week, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Covid-19 volunteers of Bayelsa state, has embarked on a sensitisation campaign for staff and customers of banks operating within Yenagoa metropolis.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the enlightenment campaign, the Coordinator of the foundation, Karimo Sokari, frowned at the poor crowd control strategies at banks his team visited.
He said if nothing was done urgently, the number of confirmed cases could triple in coming weeks.
According to him “The bank is one place where you find clusters of people in every country.
In society, everybody goes to the bank. We all go to banks to collect money and in the course of doing so, there is a high possibility that people would spread or contract the virus there.
“So we are going there to ensure banks obey the protocols established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in order to prevent the virus from spreading.
“In all, we visited 10 banks and their level of compliance is poor and we have talked to them to improve their customer service and ensure proper crowd control in a manner that would ensure social distancing.
“Apart from the bank officials, we are also talking to customers to ensure that they obey the protocols as well, and call the attention of authorities when they notice that the operations of Banks put them at risk of contracting the virus.
“We have adviced the bank officials to also ensure that they clean all surfaces in every two hours, especially that of Automated Teller Machines (ATM). And in so doing, we can stem the spread of the virus in Bayelsa.
‘’All hands must be on deck to fight COVID-19. There is a need to take responsibility on how we conduct ourselves and we must be guided on how to get our lives back.
‘’We need to be alive to do the business and take responsibility. We need to take precaution, let us use our face mask, wash our hands and maintain social distancing.
“COVID-19 has hit high and low, the big and small. What were can do is to join hands with the government and other relevant organizations in combating the virus.’’
He also observed that the more sensitisation programmes in the country, the more people would maintain social distancing and flatten the curve.
