By Newman Anthony Levey in Bo
Following the end of the inter-district lockdown last week the country’s second city of Bo is bracing up for a massive influx of people.
Officials at the District Coronavirus Emergency Response Centre (DICOVERC) have told Politico that they have accelerated strides to manage any wave of new cases.
Bo is the southern provincial headquarters and a huge business hotspot that attracts people from all over the country. Bo is also a transit point for people travelling to other districts in the region, and also connects the eastern district of Kenema.
"Our Staff are on the stand by and security is in place to give support to us if anything happens regarding an increase in cases of COVID-19," the DICOVERC Boss, David Fortune said:
He went on: "We are strategizing social mobilisation. Risk communication will engage sector by sector in different Communities," he said.
Fortune said they were also planning to set up a task force that would continue sensitisation of COVID-19 messages in the outskirts of the city.
The District Medical Officer, Dr. Roland Mash said ambulances were ready to relocate COVID-19 cases to Freetown. He said a 30-bed treatment centre would also be commissioned in the district by the end of this week.
"We have put systems in place to ensure that if any case comes up for now, there are ambulances ready to relocate them to Freetown. By the end of the week a 30-bed treatment unit at Children's hospital and the Bo government hospital will be commissioned to address any COVID-19 case," he said.
On security the Police spokesperson in the region, Mohamed Bobson Senu said there were more personnel ready to be deployed at quarantine facilities. There have been at least two cases of quarantine residents attempting to break out recently.
Police have also been deployed at entry and exit points in the district to make sure passengers and drivers put on their facemasks.
However Politico visited some of those checkpoints and observed that most passengers were either not wearing a facemask or refused to put it on properly.
As at 25 June the district had recorded 76 cases of COVID19.
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