COVID-19: Akwa Ibom govt tasks churches to set up enforcement teams

The Akwa Ibom State government has tasked church leaders in the state to ensure that they set up COVID-19 Protocols Enforcement Team in their churches in order to stem the spread of the deadly virus.

Secretary to the State Government and Chairman, COVID-19 Management Committee, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem, who gave the charge in a statement issued on Tuesday, said that the call was to ensure strict compliance with COVID-19 safety guidelines and protocols.

Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem who gave the charge while interacting with newsmen in Uyo, the state capital, also frowned at some church leaders for not observing the safety guidelines in their respective churches.

He said; “The intra church enforcement team is aimed at making worshippers obey simple COVID-19 protocols such as wearing of face masks, social distancing,use of hand sanitizer and hand washing.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Akwa Ibom records 8 deaths, conducts 1,721 tests

“The state government monitoring teams will continue doing the monitoring,but every church must have its own intra church monitoring team to ensure compliance to COVID-19 guidelines,” the SSG stated.

This came after the state government threatened to shut down any unauthorized or unlicensed COVID-19 testing centres in the state.

This was revealed on Monday by Dr Ekuwem who said that any organization found using or procuring the use of any other testing method for COVID-19 other than PCR will be shut down by the state government.

Dr Ekuwem also condemned in strong terms the attempts to use serological testing in the determination of a person’s COVID-19 status, saying it has 40 per cent chances of error and a further threat to health.

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