As part of efforts to checkmate the spread of the Coronavirus disease in Warri South Council Area, chairman of the council, Dr Michael Tidi, on Wednesday visited markets in the area to sensitize them on the need for them to stay safe.
Chairman of the council said the move was necessary following the rate at which the virus was spreading across the country.
Tidi, who was accompanied by Environmental Health workers in the council and others council staff, flagged off the sensitization campaign round Igbudu, Pessu, Ogbeh-Ijoh and Ugbuwangwe markets.
While addressing the women in the markets, Tidi emphasized the need for the market women to maintain a high level of hygiene in order for them to stay safe and be protected from the coronavirus disease.
“We are here to tell our market women that this coronavirus you are hearing about is real. We should all take it very seriously because it is already here in Nigeria.
“The only way we can protect ourselves from this deadly diseases is to make sure that we practice good personal hygiene. We must make sure that we wash our hands with soap and water all the time. We must not shake and hug people anyhow. We must keep our distance from people who are sick.
“Whenever we feel sick we should visit the hospital so that doctors can tell you what is wrong with you,” Tidi told the women.
The Director of Shamar Educational Foundation who also accompanied the Warri South Council chairman in the Sensitization campaign, told our correspondent on the sidelines that they were part of the campaign because they are an organization that care about the well-being of the citizens of the council.
She said, “We are advocating for high hygiene in order for everyone to stay alive so that we don’t contract this coronavirus. We know that coronavirus is not just a disease that is ravaging just Nigeria, but the whole world. We are going round to tell people what they can do to stay alive and we are doing this with the number one man of Warri South local government.
“We are telling people to live healthy because coronavirus does not show in the face. It’s not like when someone is sick and you will see that he is sick. In the case of coronavirus it does not show any symptoms until you are close to your grave and this is what we are trying to avoid.”
Mrs Onye Nkemefuna of Shamar Foundation, who also spoke to our correspondent advised the people to take the coronavirus seriously.
“Coronavirus is real. When we first heard about it, a lot of people spiritualized it and took it as one of those things. But right now it is so close to us. We have cases in Lagos, Abuja and recently, Benin city. So it’s very important that everybody takes that very serious and begin to live a high hygiene life,” Mrs Nkemefuna said.
Some of the women who spoke to our correspondent applauded the effort of the council boss stressing that some of them hardly have time to watch television to get any information.
Madam Cecilia, who sells tomatoes in Igbudu market, however said it was not enough to come to the market to sensitize the people but noted that government should make hand sanitizers available to the all the women in the market.
She said, “It’s a good thing they are doing but we need them to also provide hand sanitizers for us. We don’t have money to provide nose mask for ourselves because the prices have risen from N50 to N350. We cannot afford to buy hand sanitizers now. So it will be very good that they provide these things for us.”
Mrs Grace Umukoro, a potato seller at Pessu market who was more worried about how she will feed her family if the markets are eventually closed because of the coronavirus said, “We want the Government to create alternative means of survival for us since they said they are going to close the markets.
“This is the only thing I do to take care of my four children. If you tell me to stop selling today, what am I going to use to feed my children?
