CACOVID urges halt to community spread of COVID – 19 to restore economy

The private sector-led Coalition Against Covid-19 (CACOVID) has said that stopping the community spread of coronavirus in Nigeria was the only way to prevent a resurgence and get the nation’s economy back on track.

CACOVID, whose members have donated several billions of naira to the intervention against Covid-19, said the present situation calls for efforts to be geared towards grassroots campaign against community spread across the country if the gains of the past in combating the deadly virus were to be sustained.

Zouera Youssoufou, CACOVID administrator and CEO of Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), while receiving briefings from the Grassroots Awareness Campaign Team in Lagos, said the coalition embarked on grassroots awareness campaign against community spread when it realised that experiences in other countries revealed that even after the virus is tamed, there would be a possibility of resurgence of the infection if people are not sufficiently educated on basic hygiene and made to comply with protocols and guidelines.

According to her, government at all levels and the private sector operators have done so much to tackle the global challenge posed by Covid-19 and it would therefore be preposterous to relax at this time and allow the people get back to old lifestyles and ignore the preventive measures against the disease.

Youssoufou explained that the coalition launched the phase two of the grassroots awareness campaign after experiences from the phase one of the campaign showed that a lot still needed to be done and a lot of areas remained to be covered to sensitise the people that preventing the virus is in their hand.

The CACOVID leaders have done a lot to pool resources to complement government efforts at curbing the disease and the awareness campaign is the next line of action that efforts should be geared towards.

Youssoufou said CACOVID has been involved in community engagements, creating awareness, putting out posters, distributing facemasks and liquid sanitisers and the response of the people to the campaign has been encouraging.

“This grassroots campaign is to help forestall further spread of the disease to suburbs and other rural communities in Lagos and Rivers States as well as in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory,” Youssoufou said.

“The awareness campaign is to further strengthen the efforts of the government in the fight against community spread of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, through inter-personal and sustained enlightenment campaign that will help to educate people in communities on the recommended hygiene protocols to keep individuals and families safe.