COVID-19: Damongo Markets To Close For Fumigation

The Municipal Chief Executive for West Gonja, Hon. Saaed Muhazu Jibreal has revealed that markets in Damongo, the Savannah Regional capital will be closed on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, for fumigation to take place.

Market women, shop owners, and shoppers are expected to comply with the directive and vacate the markets accordingly for the scheduled exercise.

The one-day closure is in-line with measures spelled out by the government to contain the spread of the deadly Coronavirus (COVID 19).

The fumigation exercise is expected to start at 4:00pm, the MCE disclosed in an interview with a locally based radio station, PAD FM.

"...In addition, on Tuesday I'm pleading with the market women and shop owners on the roadside, and in our big market; on Tuesday everybody should kindly close their shops. We want to fumigated. All our markets will be sprayed...on Tuesday 4:00pm we want to enforce it," he said.

According to him, the assembly was among four selected districts and municipalities in the Savannah Region to benefit from central government supplies, including soaps, hand sanitizers, and Veronica buckets. The rest are: Bole-Bamboi District, East Gonja Municipal and Central Gonja District

He disclosed plans by the municipality to launch the crusade, "get Coronavirus out of Savannah Region," adding that, the assembly has already supported some selected institutions of learning with hand sanitizers. They have also advanced some amount of money to the Public Health and Emergency Committee to start sensitization.

He said his office was going to clampdown on recalcitrant Imams who defy the government's directive on public gathering to observe prayers, particularly the Friday prayers. In his words, police and military personnel were going to be deployed to deal with such stubborn Imams.

The Member of Parliament for the Damongo constituency, Hon. Adam Mutawakilu who spoke on the same radio program pledged his full support in this trying times.

He said he was currently partnering with the Ghana Health Service to carry out sensitization exercises and Radio Panel Discussions on the deadly COVID 19 across the constituency.

To this end, he has already donated a cash amount of Ghc3,000 to the Ghana Health service, pledging to step up the amount when the need arises.

The legislator, however, condemned the reckless reportage/panic and unchecked publishing of the name of the Damongo based Italian returnee who was suspected to be carrying the Coronavirus.

He said the accepted standard practice was to keep the name of the suspect undercover, whilst revealing only the age and country of origin.

President Akuffo-Addo has in his latest address to the nation ordered for the closure of Ghana's borders and the arrival of 50,000 Coronavirus testing kits into the country.

Ghana has so far confirmed 24 cases of the deadly Coronavirus with one death, leaving the total number of active cases at 23.

Earlier, the president as part of measures to curtail the spread of the virus, announced a ban on public gathering such as religious services, funerals; closure of schools; travel restrictions for people coming from countries that had recorded 200 or more confirmed cases of COVID-19; designated isolation and treatment centres at some health facilities, screening of travellers with thermal scanners at the country’s points of entry, among others.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO),209,000 people have been infected by the Coronavirus globally and more than 8,700 people have died.

At least,87,000 people have recovered from the virus according to data collected by the Johns Hopkins University in the United States.JHU's global death toll has surpassed 10,000.

Reliable information sourced by this writer indicates that the Mole National Park will be officially closed down tomorrow.