By Prince J Musa in Kenema.
The Kenema District Emergency Operations Center has inspected checkpoints lining the highway leading to the district.
The body, which is made up of the Office of National Security (ONS), police and military, among others local authorities, completed the inspection on Wednesday as part of their monitoring of the implementation of measures geared towards preventing the Coronavirus from entering the district.
Three major checkpoints were inspected on Wednesday: Bandama checkpoint, which connects Kenema to Bo, Mano Junction, which connects Kailahun and Kono districts; and Moala, which connects Kenema to neighboring Republic of Liberia.
Whiles addressing the personnel at the checkpoints, the Resident Minister Eastern region, Andrew Ansu Fatorma, said that the intention is to ensure that security is tight enough no one passes through into the country without proper screening.
“Upon confirming the areas of focus, we have warned the security at the check points that any foreign vehicles from Liberia and Guinea should be banned from entering into Kenema City after 10:00pm,” adding: “after 6:00pm anybody passing the check points most produce ID cards to show their nationality before allowing them and everybody, be they ministers, security commanders or any authority, must wash their hands before allowing them to pass”.
The District Medical Officer (DMO) in Kenema, Dr. Donald Grant, told the security officials that as medical people, they would ensure that some of the basic preventive things such as veronica buckets and gloves were provided at the check points, including thermometers for temperature taking.
He also urged security officers not to compromise the standard checking procedures.
“From the tour of the check points, we came to know that some officers do favor certain people and they do not comply with hand washing because of their status in society. This should stop immediately,” Dr Grant said.
Major Albert Kamanda of the Second Infantry Battalion in the district said they had already arrested some people who hadn’t followed due procedures.
“Thirty-two people have been arrested around Sierra Leone-Guinea border in Kailahun district. They are believed to be gold miners. They are under police custody in Kailahun for interrogation. Another eight people have been arrested from Penguai chiefdom in Kailahun district along the border with Guinea. They claimed to be miners and are now at Kenema police station for investigation,” Major Kamanda said.
This was the first visit to checkpoints by the Kenema stakeholders since President Julius Maada Bio’s declaration of a State of Emergency on Tuesday to tackle to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sierra Leone is the only country in West Africa that haven’t recorded a case yet, despite being completely surrounded by two countries with cases – Guinea and Liberia.
The government’s goal is to tighten security at all the border entry points to make sure the disease doesn’t get in to the country.
Within the Kenema City, the team also monitored businesses and institutions to ensure they have hand washing facilities. All businesses and institutions that didn’t have hand washing facilities were forced to shut down.
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