As part of the continuing efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, the State Government of Osun has commenced enforcement of safety protocols across the State.
The Joint Task Force against COVID-19 in the State today, apprehended some non-adherents to the safety protocols against COVID-19 as advised by the NCDC, and made to attend a compulsory safety course.
The purpose of the safety course is to enlighten the non-adherents on the reality of the pandemic and the necessary safety precautions that should be ensured to forestall its further spread.
Addressing the defaulters, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Mrs. Abiodun Ige, said that the government has a duty to protect the lives of citizens, and the measure taken was one of the necessary actions that the government had to take to ensure public safety.
Ige said that the government was not interested in just punishing its citizens but rather to strengthen its efforts at ensuring healthy living for all and sundry.
She said the decision to subject the non-adherents to enlightenment process was part of efforts to ensure total compliance with the precautionary measures against the spread of the deadly virus, saying, ‘that explains why non-adherents to safety protocols were not arrested or requested to pay any fine.
The S.A Security said that the government had chosen the medium of sensitization as an enforcement strategy because of the regard it has for its citizens.
In her words, “We observed that people are not complying with the precautionary measures set by the NCDC and the State, and that explains why the government has given the directive that people who default should be taken in for sensitization on facts about the disease and why they need to comply with the regulations.”
She added that the enforcement will continue for as long as it takes to get people to adhere strictly to the safety protocols.