Members of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) COVID-19 emergency response team have denied media reports that they have abandoned their duty posts due to non-payment of their N30,000 daily allowance for April and May by the FCT Administration.
Briefing journalists in Abuja, a member of the team from the FCT Public Health Department working on the COVID-19 Pandemic, Mr. Alabi Adozia said they were fully aware of the grave challenge which the prevalence of the Coronavirus pose to the health of Nigerians, pointing out that all their members are committed to the fight against the disease.
He said while it is true that some of them expressed their displeasure over the non-payment of their N30,000 daily allowance for two months, the action did not in any way affect the job of collection of sample of suspected COVID-19 patients and other related activities.
It would be recalled that some section of the media had reported that sample collectors, case investigators, ambulance drivers, environmental health worker, temperature readers and cleaners working with the FCT COVID-19 emergency response team had embarked on a protest last Tuesday over the delay in the payment of the daily allowance.
Meanwhile, the Acting Secretary of the FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat, Dr. Mohammed Kawu, has commended all members of the COVID-19 emergency response team for their commitment and dedication to duty in spite of the critical nature of their work.
He said apart from the risk of exposure to victims of the Corona virus, the health workers are always on duty round the clock to ensure that the pandemic is brought to an end in the Federal Capital Territory.
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He assured the workers that the obstructions which hindered the payment of their allowances have since been addressed. Kawu said all those affected will receive the areas of the allowances in full while measures have been put in place to prevent similar occurrence in the future.
The Acting Secretary reiterated that the fight against the virus is fully on course in the FCT, pointing out that the Community Active Case Search is now being carried out in communities in all the six Area Councils of the FCT.
He reminded the residents that the virus is still spreading and people are being infected. He, therefore, called on the residents to support the fight against the dreaded disease by adhering to all established health protocols particularly regular hand washing, wearing of face masks and avoiding large gatherings and crowded places.
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