Cross River hunts for funds to build more isolation centres

The Cross River government has, for the umpteenth time, appealed to international partners and corporate organisations to donate towards building more isolation centres to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

Chairman of the Cross River State COVID-19 Fund Raising and Mobilisation Committee and Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Tina Bankor Agbor, made the appeal yesterday during the inauguration of the committee in Calabar.

Accompanied by the secretary of the panel and Commissioner for International Donor Support, Dr. Inyang Asibong, the chairman said the state government had observed the far-flung nature of the council areas hence the establishment of more of the facilities.

Agbor said in view of this, the Governor Ben Ayade administration had deemed it fit to build additional isolation centres at Ogoja and Obanliku to contain possible outbreaks.

Her words: “The Fund Raising and Resource Mobilisation Committee for COVID-19 appeals to our ever responsive conglomerates, business partners, distinguished sons and daughters of the state, special envoys, friends and well wishers of the state to arise and support our efforts at keeping the state free and safe.

“We require funds to urgently equip the three isolation centres, procure ambulances and other ancillary equipment for the centres, support the production and distribution of facemasks to all the nooks and crannies of the state as well as conditional cash transfers, food palliatives and logistics for the monitoring task force.

“The state government, in collaboration with the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, has established an isolation centre which is presently being equipped with necessary facilities in conformity with established standard.”

She further noted: “However, considering the far flung nature of some local governments in the state from Calabar, it has become imperative that additional isolation centres be created at Ogoja and Obanliku local governments to cater for our people.”

“We must all come together to prepare against the eventuality of its spread into our state considering that neighboring states have recorded positive cases while neighbouring Cameroun has over one thousand positive cases,” Agbor added.