Labasa’s Health inspector at forefront of COVID-19 fight
Seini Ubitau and her colleagues at the Labasa Town Council are at the forefront of the COVID-19 response.
The council had implemented activities to ensure that residents of Labasa and those visiting from other towns were practising hand hygiene and physical distancing at council-operated buildings.
She is the Assistant Health Inspector at the council. Since the announcement of the first COVID-19 patient, Ms Ubitau said she had to be physically and mentally prepared to go out in public with her team.
“Working during this pandemic has affected my time with family,” Ms Ubitau said. “At times I would have to work late to overlook the programmes that were being carried out at the council and even upon returning home, I would have to take precautions while interacting with my family members as this is an interactive field and I would not want to risk exposure to my family members.” Ms Ubitau said the COVID-19 pandemic changed her life.
“This disease does not discriminate so we should always maintain good hygiene, starting with ourselves first, our families then to the community.”
One of her biggest challenges while conducting awareness outreach was maintaining physical distancing while out in the public arena.
She is thankful to the Labasa Police Unit for their assistance in guiding the public in town and making sure that social distancing was maintained.
Ms Ubitau graduated with a Bachelor of Environmental Health from the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science in 2017.