COVID-19: Expert urges transporters, passengers with comply FG guidelines

Mr Joseph Effiong, an expert on Environment and Development, on Monday warned all transporters and passengers to imbibe on Federal Government’s guidelines on COVID-19 to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

Effiong, who gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said that the effort would help in the fight against the virus in the country.

NAN reports that the Federal Government on July 1, re-opened interstates movement across the country.

He said that the reopening of the interstates movement was a good idea, adding that the transporters and passengers should endeavour to comply with the guidelines to reduce the spread of the virus.

According to him, it has been observed that in spite of all the warnings and advice by the government and experts, some Nigerians still don’t want to obey the guidelines.

“The reopening of interstates movement also required reopening of parks, in other words, the operators of all the parks should ensure that they provide adequate sanitizers and hand washing facilities.

“The transport operators should make sure they establish a team of taskforce that will ensure that the guidelines are strictly obeyed by both the passengers, transporters, traders and other people around the parks.

“The taskforce team should also monitor people to make sure that passengers sitting or hanging in the park while they are waiting for their vehicle to filled up should observe social distancing.

“The team should as well ensure that the passengers while they are paying their transport fare to cashier must do it accordingly as such will help to avoid crowd in the park.

“The team should ensure that anybody without face masks or who refused to wash their hands at the entrance of the park should not be allowed to enter the park for any reason.

“If the passengers and the operators should work together in oneness, I think it will go a long way to reduce the spread of the pandemic in the country,’’ he said.

Effiong advised the team to ensure that buses and other small vehicles conveyed only few passengers to maintain social distancing.

He, however, advised Nigerians to comply with the guidelines, adding that some people refused to accept that COVID-19 was real.

The expert said that such impression would not help the effort of the government and other experts in the fight of the pandemic.

“My advice to those Nigerians, who refused to accept that COVID-19 is real, is that they should stop doubting and only believed.

“The disease is deadly and the only way to prevent it is to accept that it is real.

“It is only when you believe the fact, that you can be able to obey the guidelines.

“Please my dear people accept it, believe it and obey the guidelines, to help save your life and that of your loved ones for greater nation,” he said. (NAN)