By Newman Anthony Levey in Bo
The District Coronavirus Response Committee (DICOVERC) of Pujehun has discharged two people who recovered from COVID-19 after undergoing treatment.
Both men were admitted at the district’s treatment center on the 19th of May this year after testing positive for the virus just a day before.
The men were the first two cases recorded in the district. They were registered as cases #510 and #511 on the country’s COVID-19 register.
One other man who had completed quarantine was also released back in to the community after testing negative.
At a special ceremony in Pujehun Town on Tuesday, all three of them received food and other items to help them resettle back in to the community. They expressed gratitude for how they had been treated throughout their stay in treatment center and quarantine home.
Pujehun has seven cumulative COVID-19 cases. The discharge of the two men on Tuesday means the district now has five patients with the virus in treatment center.
There are however three more people in quarantine after the district recorded its last case on the 5th of June.
The highest case the district has recorded in a day is four, which was on the 4th of June. The COVID-19 Coordinator in the district, Mohamed Kemokai, said this is because of their level of coordination with various pillars in the DICOVERC.
“The pillars are working together, that is the reason why the district has not recorded high cases of COVID-19,” Kemokai said.
The Chairman of Pujehun District Council, Shiek Shuaibu Sowa, said:
"The COVID-19 fight in Pujehun District is a collective fight and I am happy to see people been discharged from treatment center.”
The District Medical Officer, Dr. Amara Steven Ngebai, said the level of awareness in the community is also high because they embarked on, “Daily Radio discussion on COVID-19 prevention, use of face mask enforced in the entire district by security personnel, sensitization and strengthening of community based surveillance.”
Dr Ngebai also said neighborhood watch has also been integral in their campaign.
Kemokai said the DICOVERC is currently working under an extreme circumstance because of delays in receiving funding. He said they can’t even afford to pay for the guest house that they use to quarantine people.
However, Kemokai said they have taken the initiative to raise funds by themselves and protect the district.
"Part of what we have been doing is to mobilize resources in and out of Pujehun to help support the response. We are also linking with the central government to ensure we get resources to commit to the fight,” he said.
Kemokai added that they had sent a budget to the National Covid-19 Emergency Operation Center (NACOVERC) and were hoping for a response. Meanwhile, he said they have raised funds from politicians, campaigners and charity organizations.
Pujehun, which is located in the Southern region, is strategically connected to districts like Bo, Bonthe, Moyamba, all of which have now recorded COVID-19 cases in double figures.
Pujehun also shares border with Liberia and has popular trading spots along the border and in a few other areas.
However, major public gathering activities have been halted since March this year, as a result of directives from the government of Sierra Leone, after the country recorded its first Covid-19 cases.
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