By Akanimo Kufre (The New Diplomat’s A/Ibom/C/River Correspondent)
The governor of Cross River State Ben Ayade last Saturday issued new orders for civil servants in the state to resume work on Tuesday 14th April 2020 despite the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.
This decision might have drawn more attacks to the governor who is already in eye of recent social media storm generated by an ace media practitioner Ruben Abatti on his contrary position on social distancing.
Ayade’s new instruction directs all civil servants from Grade Level 10 and above are to resume work on solely for the purpose of fighting COVID 19 pandemic.
Read also: COVID-19: Lagos Discharges More Six Patients
According to the Honourable commissioner for Health, Dr Beta Edu these specified civil servants are to get back to work to prevent hunger-induced anarchy in Cross River State as already witnessed in some states having total lockdown.
“Its not all civil servants, it is those who are in the higher grade and the reason is so that they can pay people their salaries because people are out of food, money and all of that so that what is going on in Lagos will not begin in Cross River State. They need to come back and prepare vouchers because by 15th if those things don’t go in it means people will not be paid by the end of the month. And if people are not paid by the end of the month, the same thing that is going on in Lagos now, where people are going to scatter places and they beat people up will begin to happen in Cross River.
According to the press release made available to our correspondent through the SA Media to Gov Ayade, Mr Christian Ita, the ‘No mask No movement’ policy is still in full force while returning civil servants are to receive nose mask through their respective permanent secretaries. Also sales of the mask is strictly prohibited as the mask is given free by Ayade-led government.
However, the debate of mask wearing against social distancing rages and Dr Edu made her technical observation.
“We are not opposed to social distancing but what we’re saying is simple that our culture as a people, Nigerians and Africans we don’t understand and are unable to observe social distancing. I’ll give you one hundred practical instances. Go to the market, the woman who is trading and all of that, she doesn’t even know what 1 meter is, go to the bank, public places, on the road as people pass by each other. They don’t keep 1 metre between themselves. So we’re saying that practically we are not doing it. But if you use the mask and you sneeze this Mask has three layers including a filter. If sneeze into that mask or you cough, droplets are contained within you. They don’t fall on surfaces,they don’t go from one person to the other. So in that kind of instance, you using a mask and am using a mask, if I talk, cough or sneeze this Mask will not allow the spread. We all know the theory on book we’ve been preaching it but the truth is that we’re unable to do it not in public transportation. You tell people the bank cannot take this amount of persons but outside the bank is a crowd of people who don’t understand the meaning of social distancing. Even when you go to distribute food from household to household what is the reality? As soon as you come into a street everybody runs at you to say please please let me collect o before it get finished. Where is the social distancing in that situation. Let’s be practical its not working. Let’s bring out a policy which we can locally push on.”
The Cross River State government gave the Calabar Garment factory a mandate to produce 1.5million nose mask, so far nearly 1 million copies have been provided as the factory workers are engaged in day and night shift.
The technical question some health professionals expected the public analyst like Dr Abatti was the efficacy of the Cross River State garment factory made nose mask which Dr Beta Edu emphatically said yes.
Nevertheless finding shows that standard surgical mask are effective as respirators especially the N95, FFP3 and FFP4.
While this information is contestible, face mask are recognize in novel COVID 19 pandemic as Precautionary Principle.
Study also said that like Nigerians, Australia and the US, where most trials were done, mask wearing has became difficult whereas mask wearing became normalised in some Asian countries, partly as a protection against polluted air and perhaps also as a response to the SARS and MERS outbreaks. In Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and China, for example, mask wearing is now the norm. The Oxford COVID 19 Evidence Service team led by Prof. Trisha Greenhalgh of the Nufield Department of Primary Health Care Science Unit observed.
American Center for disease control, CDC advice on use of face masks by the general public14 Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face can cover when around others. You could spread covid-19 to others even if you do not feel sick
Everyone should wear a c I’mloth face cover when they have to go out in
publicc for example, to the grocery store or to pick up other necessities
Cloth face coverings should not be placed on children under age 2 or on
anyone who has trouble breathing or is unconscious, incapacitated, or
otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
“The cloth face cover is meant to protect other people in case you are
infected.
“Do not use a face mask meant for a healthcare worker Continue to keep about 6 feet (2 m) between yourself and others. The cloth face cover is not a substitute for social distancing.”
Indeed Cross River State government is very strict about social gathering as confirmed by the new orders by governor Ben Ayade.
“Nobody is allowed in public places such as markets, shopping malls, sports arena, banks etc without the correct use of appropriate nose mask
“Mass gatherings of all kinds such as worships, weddings, burials etc remain prohibited
“Defaulters will be prosecuted in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Cross River State Epidemic and Pandemic Law 2020.”
