By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The Southern district of Pujehun has gone more than 30 days without recording a new case of Coronavirus. Sunday, 8th of July marked exactly 33 days since all COVID-19 patients were discharged from the district’s treatment center.
The District COVID-19 Emergency Response Committee (DICOVERC) has put down the success to their “remarkable” level of organization across the district even before they recorded a case.
The DICOVERC Coordinator, Mohamed K.G Kemokai, told Politico in a telephone interview on Saturday that “Pujehun is one of the few districts where even before government announced the setting up of DICOVERCs, we had gone on and formed a committee with every structure in place to ensure we are ready in case we record a case.”
Pujehun is strategically located in the south, connecting districts in the region and in the East. Pujehun also shares border with Liberia and has popular trading spots along the border and in a few other areas. Pujehun was the last district in the Southern region to record a case. The first COVID-19 case in the district was recorded on May 18th this year, after two women who were in quarantine tested positive for the virus.
The district subsequently recorded seven cases in total, and only two of its 14 chiefdoms were affected. Kpanga Chiefdom recorded 1 case, whiles Kpaka recorded 6.
A total of 124 people who were in quarantine have also been released in previous weeks after completing their 14 days mandatory quarantine.
Kemokai said their DICOVERC’s success also comes down to the level of coordination and involvement of all relevant stakeholders.
“The synergy the DICOVERC has with the Technical Pillar is so great, which is why we have recorded these successes. The fight on COVID has three folds; the governance aspect which is what DICOVERC represents, the technical aspect which is headed by the medical doctors and the district medical officer and the security side which is done by SLP, RSLAF and led by Office of National Security” he explained.
He said they have drawn strength from all these players in dealing with the virus in the district. Local players like chiefs, religious leaders and councilors have been key in the district’s effort against the disease.
Communication and messaging has also been important in the district’s success, the spokesperson of the district’s COVID-19 response, Mohamed Massaquoi, said.
“We have always been proactive in providing the necessary information to the public through outreach and radio engagement,” Massaquoi said, adding: “Recognizing the role of the media during a crisis, we have kept our doors open to them in terms of information sharing.”
On Saturday, Massaquoi said training was on the way for journalists in the district on reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even though the district has triumphed so far over the virus, Kemokai said they will not be taking their gains for granted. When asked about what he will do to consolidate those gains, he said: “We realize that this is not the time to be complacent. We have divided our district in to six areas with teams distributing facemasks and hand washing items. And we have told our people that government just relaxed two laws; which is the curfew relaxation and the inter-district lockdown. So, all other laws and bye laws are still in place.”
Like so many other districts, Pujehun will now brace up for the massive influx of people into the district following the lifting of the inter-district lockdown last week, something which authorities in the district say they are prepared to handle. Pujehun, like other districts, is set to receive laboratory equipment from the government so that they could do their own testing for the virus. This, the district officials say, is further boost in their advantage.
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