In a bid to stem the spread of the Coronavirus, Ogun Government has called on the leadership of the Redeemed Christians Church of God (RCCG) to join the government in enlightening its members.
The sensitization is geared toward increasing public awareness on preventive measures against the further spread of the virus.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, made the call on Thursday while addressing the Senior Pastors of RCCG at the Redemption Camp Kilometre 45, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Coker said that the global emergency posed by Covid-19 informed the need to sensitize religious leaders who would then take the message to their various communities.
She said that the index case of the disease, which was transferred from Ogun to the Bio-Security Laboratory in Lagos, has been responding to treatment.
The commissioner pointed out that the 39 quarantined individuals have not in any way developed symptoms of the disease.
She said that the present administration had deemed it fit to meet the faith-based organizations with the message of personal hygiene such that it would “cascade to local government and wards’’.
Coker further said that health educators in the state had been deployed to the hinterlands to sensitize the rural dwellers.
“We all know that Coronavirus is a global emergency.
“The index case, a 44-year-old Italian national who was transferred from Ogun to the Bio-Security Laboratory is responding to treatment. Even, people who have been quarantined are not developing any symptoms.
“The need to keep spreading the message of personal hygiene at different levels is very important. Hence, we want to solicit your support in fighting this disease,” she said.
The commissioner applied hand sanitizer on the hands of the Assistant General Overseer (Administration) of RCCG, Pastor Funso Odesola and National Overseer of the Church, Pastor J.O Obayemi.
She presented some packs of hand sanitizer to the church as a gesture from the state government.
In her remarks, Prof. Bola Olayinka, the Team Lead, African Region, World Health Organisation (WHO), underscored the need for social distancing in the event of respiratory tract infection.
Olayinka said that the habit of touching the face and other parts of the body without washing hands should be discouraged.
“The person who is coughing or sneezing is expected to use a mask, not the other way round as it is being abused nowadays.
“It is ideal you use tissue paper when you blow your nose or cough and dispose of it immediately.
“We crave for the entire world to play their parts in reducing the transmission of Coronavirus,” she said.
Responding, Pastor Odesola thanked Ogun Government for the gesture, promising that the pastors would not fail to spread the good news of personal hygiene in their various localities.
Meanwhile, the Emergency Operations Committee (EOC) on Covid-19 has conducted training for Disease Surveillance and Notification Officer (DSNO) as well as Monitoring and Evaluation Officers in the 20 local government areas of the state.
This is with a firm call on them to go to their various locations to effectively educate people about the disease. (NAN)
