Delta shuts borders, imposes two-week restriction on residents
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has urged the three tiers of governments and employers of labour to ensure prompt payment of salaries to sustain the stay-at-home orders for containment of the COVID-19 pandemic nationwide.
It also urged that there should be no job loss during the period in order not to worsen unemployment rate in the country.
TUC President, Quadri Olaleye, while assessing the situation and efforts of government in battling the scourge, called for a sober reflection on the part of all.
He said there was need to work on some stimulus to make life easier for Nigerian workers, urging cooperation to surmount the myriad of challenges besetting the nation.
On the receipt of relief materials from Mr. Jack Ma, TUC urged government to make the kits available free of charge to the citizenry, stressing that profit-takers had increased prices of essential materials beyond the reach of the common man.
Pledging the union’s support for the anti-Coronavirus fight, Olaleye sought tests and self-isolation for officials that might have travelled widely in the last three weeks to check the spread of the disease.
His words: “We implore the government and the general public to continue to treat each other with the same respect we have become known for as a country. Consequently, we have realised that it is our collective struggle to overcome the scourge. We charge the government to reduce the tax burden on workers and the general public through tax waiver.
“We are confident that the spread of message of hope and further active steps to curb the infection would bring a lasting solution.
“We also want to call on all citizens not to fall into the trap of believing fake news, and at the same, you should scrutinise the sources of your information as there have already been peddlers of misinformation, particularly on the Internet, to cause panic and confusion.”
However, Governor Ifeamyi Okowa has imposed a two-week restriction on residents of Asaba.
He also ordered the closure of the airport to traffic from 6:00pm today, just as all land and sea borders had been pronounced shut effective 6:00am on March 29.
The governor, in his third broadcast on the COVID-19 pandemic, in Asaba, yesterday, also stated that all malls, supermarkets, markets and shops should close on April 1.
Okowa, who is also the Chairman, Central Committee on Managing/Containing the Coronavirus Pandemic, said the latest measures were in line with his promise of continued monitoring and review of the situation.
He said: “This is the third time I am addressing you on the Coronavirus pandemic. As promised, we have continued to monitor and review developments concerning this global challenge on a daily, if not, hourly basis.
“Although there has been no confirmed case in Delta, nevertheless, we deem it fit to take further measures to avert any outbreak or contain its spread if it occurs.”
