COVID-19: Nobody is spared -WHO

From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that everybody is vulnerable to being infected with COVID-19, otherwise known as coronavirus.
Speaking at one-day orientation workshop, organised for journalists by Kano State Ministry of Health, held at Tahir Guest Palace over the weekend, Ibrahim Bebeji, Risk Communication and Community Engagement Focal Person of WHO in Kano said everybody could catch the virus among human being.
He therefore noted that the COVID-19 response is a collective efforts by all and sundry, adding that all hands must be on deck to stamp out the virus in the and the world at large.
“Everybody should participate in the fight against COVID-19. All hands must be on deck. All stakeholders must participate actively if we want to stamp out this virus.
“ Let me tell you that everyone is vulnerable to being infected with the virus. No one is spared. So, we have to rise up to face the challenge squarely,” Bebeji said.
Bebeji, who represented WHO at the event, expressed fear of the resurgence of the infections in the state, calling on all stakeholders to double efforts to ensure that the “second wave” of the virus had not inflicted adverse effects on the state.
He therefore described media as indispensable stakeholder towards enlightening the public on strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols, which according to him, “is the only way to decimate the infections.”
He also called on the general public to be up and doing to observe the protocols, which include wearing face mask, washing hands and observing social distance.
Earlier in a remark, the Coordinator, Kano State COVID-19 Technical Response Team, Dr Tijjani Hussein, said the trainings would re-equipe the media practitioners on the nitty gritty of COVID-19 response.
He hinted that the ministry would plan to be holding the trainings for working journalists in the state on quarterly basis, aimed at enlightening the public about COVID-19.
Dr Hussein, who was represented by Auwalu Fagge, Kano Health Educator in the ministry of health, therefore urged newsmen to double their efforts in enlightening the public about the sudden resurgence of COVID-19 virus in the country.
He said “journalists should not relent in disseminating first-hand information about the danger of the virus, assuring that Kano government has recognized journalists as stakeholders in COVID-19 response.”