COVID19: Udom orders fumigation of major towns, public places in A’Ibom

Akwa Ibom state Governor, Udom Emmanuel, has ordered for immediate fumigation of highly populated cities and other locations in the state as recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) before the lockdown order against coronavirus pandemic can be relaxed.

Addressing newsmen in Uyo on Sunday, the Chairman of Akwa Ibom state Environmental and Waste Management Agency, Prince Akpan Ikim, said the fumigation exercise has been concluded in nine local government areas of the state.

He said public areas captured in the exercise include motor parks, markets, hotels ,hospitals and other public places in Ikot Ekpene, Eket, OrukAnam, Essien Udom, Oron, Itu, Uyo and Ikot Abasi council areas.

He disclosed that the fumigation exercise is done according to World Health Organization (WHO) standard and will continue to ensure that coronavirus is defeated in the state.

“The governor loves his people that is why he, proactively, gave us marching order to decontaminate the state. So, there is no politics attached to it. If you watch our activities very closely, you would understand that we do not play politics with peoples’ lives,” he stated.

Ikim assured that the agency will continue to work in synergy with the incident management committee of the state COVID-19 response team and would leave no stone unturned in carrying out the marching order.

“We are working very closely with the incident management committee in the state as our technical partner from the medical angle. Whichever place they requests that we decontaminate, that we will surely do.

“Our job basically is to decontaminate every public place in Akwa Ibom state. We are taking a look at hospitals critically and we are going to decontaminate a whole lot of them, just as we did in parks, markets, police stations and other public places,” he added.

Ikim said that the agency will soon commence the second phase of the exercise and promised to sustain it until every part of the state is decontaminated, maintaining that no price was too big to pay to protect the lives of Akwa Ibom people from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We started it five-days ago and our first spot of call was Eket Local Government Area, where we decontaminated the local government council secretariat and some hotels, churches, the park, market and hospitals.

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“On the second day, we came back to Uyo where we also decontaminated several hospitals and public places. Today is the fifth day and we round-off with General Hospital, Ikot Abasi and Ikot Okoro Hospital and other locations within Uyo metropolis.

“It’s been hectic, but sincerely speaking, no price is too big enough for protecting lives and preventing this COVID-19,” he said.