COVID-19: Plateau Govt planning mass infection of rural community – Youths

Youths in Plateau State say they will sue government for siting a quarantine center in their community against World Health Organization standards.

The Berom Youth Moulders’ Association, Heipang District in a press statement, Sunday the quarantine center in a residential area in Heipang town poses is a health threat and should be relocated.

“We will also not be deterred to constitute legal proceedings in if the matter is not addressed properly by the end of the deadline and also be forced the petition the United Nations and the World Health Organisation,” said the group’s statement through its spokesperson, Mr. Rwang Tengwong.

A group of community representatives had on the 18th of April, 2020 objected the siting of the Quarantine Centre in Heipang town for not observing “stipulated guidelines”.

The expressed fears that workers in the facility who are members of the community are being exposed to the coronavirus disease as they are untrained Health Workers, and do not use personal protective equipment.

The Plateau Commissioner of Health, Dr. Ninkong Lar Ndam on April 20, 2020 on a live radio programme admitted that the said facility violates WHO guidelines and promised to relocate it within a week.

However, despite the State’s index case coming from the center, “confirming existing fears,” the Berom Youth Moulders’ Association said new inmates were admitted into the center for quarantine on 23rd and 24th of April, 2020.

“Sadly also is the fact that the index case stayed for 48 hours at the facility after she was confirmed positive of COVID 19,” said the group.

“As a Community, we expect that with the confirmed case recorded in the state, government will be more committed to ensure that citizens are not further exposed to the risk of spreading the dreaded disease by immediately quarantining all workers of the hotel, relocating the inmates and immediately decontaminating the facility to stop cases of Community spread of the virus.

“As against the Commissioner’s statement that no community will agree that the Quarantine Centre be sited in their domain, Heipang community has played a supportive role in the fight against COVID 19 pandemic by advising that the facility be moved to the Jos Inland Container Dry Port which is in the outskirt of Heipang.

“At this point, we will like to state that we will monitor from 00:00am to 23:59pm of 27th April, 2020 to ensure government lives to its promise to moving all the inmates from the center.

“We will also note that members of our community who have rendered services at Godiya Tourists Resort should be quarantine to avoid the risk of community spread of COVID 19 while members be randomly tested.

“We want to make it clear that, if government does not relocate the quarantine centre from the present residential area by 23:59 of Monday the 27th of April, 2020, we will be forced to interpret government’s action as a Biological War against us,” said the group.

No further action has been reported of the group since the deadline elapsed and no official comment has been obtained on the matter.