COVID-19: Obaseki Insists on No Vaccination, No Access to Public Places
In spite of the restraining order of a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt stopping compulsory vaccination in Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki has vowed to deny unvaccinated persons access to large crowd in the Edo from the middle of this month.
Obaseki, who reiterated his last Friday's directive on the issue maintained that while nobody would be forced to take the COVID-19 jabs, those who chose not to be vaccinated would not be allowed access to large public gatherings, insisting that the government would enforce the earlier directive in the overall interest of the people of the state.
He also threatened that the state might be forced to implement a lockdown if there was a failure to follow the directives for vaccination and compliance with the NonPharmaceutical Intervention (NPIs) in order to halt the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 which is currently raging within the state.
The governor, while addressing a media briefing yesterday, described the litigants in the Port Harcourt court as embarking on, "litigation tourism."
He vowed that his administration would do everything legally possible to challenge the injunction in the appellate court, stressing that he owed it a responsibility to protect the larger population against a very few who felt no need to take the vaccination.
He hinged his insistence on denial of access to large crowd and public places to unvaccinated persons on the alarming rate of the third phase of the virus ravaging the state, disclosing that within a spate of two days, one of the front line doctors working with the state's COVID-19 team, was rendered orphan by the pandemic as the medical personnel lost both parents.
Obaseki added that at best, the court injunction, asking the state government to maintain the status quo was at best, "speculative and preemptive," saying the directive would not become effective until the middle of September.
According to him, "The attention of the Edo State Government has been drawn to an order by a High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, directing the Government to maintain the status quo on the purported compulsory vaccination of its citizens with the COVID-19 vaccine.
"To the best of our knowledge, the order is at best speculative and pre-emptive as the scheduled date for the commencement of the enforcement of the directive by the state government is the second week of September, 2021.
"It must be stated that there is an obvious misconception that the directive issued by government was to make vaccination compulsory for all citizens.
"Although the State Governor, in truth, has the power to make such an order under the Gazetted Quarantine Regulations, this directive is actually only a denial of access to public places of persons who chose not to be vaccinated.
"We believe government’s overriding concern is the safety and health of its citizens."
He further added: "We are currently confronted with a situation wherein the Case Positivity Rate (CPR) for COVID-19 hovers between 15 and 25 percent as deaths are consistently being recorded daily from COVID-19, with unvaccinated persons accounting for 100 percent of deaths in the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
"Government, therefore, finds it strange that some persons in purported pursuit of their fundamental human rights would embark on litigation tourism outside of our state, seek to become a source of public health danger and put at risk the safety and health of the larger population.
"Government owes a sacred duty to the populace to take all actions necessary to protect the health of the majority of the citizens and in this connection, an even greater quantity of vaccines is being secured for the use of the people of Edo State.”
According to Obaseki, the Edo State Government has instructed its lawyers to vigorously pursue and challenge all such orders in the courts from where they emanate and if necessary, at the appellate level, while affirming its position as a law-abiding government.
"It must be made clear that the government shall continue to pursue all legal and administrative options available for the protection of the best interest of the good people of Edo State.
“The Edo State governor appreciated all leaders in various spheres within the state for their support so far for the vaccination exercise which, he noted, had resulted in unprecedented uptake of the vaccines by Edo people."
Nevertheless, the governor thanked religious bodies, hotels, banks, event centres, restaurants and bars, among others, that had volunteered their premises for use as vaccination posts.
He reiterated that the directives on vaccination stands, adding that, “people who are planning social, religious, political or business events after the second week of September should ensure that both themselves and their guests are not only vaccinated but possess vaccination cards as proof of vaccination, as anyone without this proof will not be granted access to crowded facilities."
Additionally, he said that the government was commencing intensive enforcement of use of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) to curb the current spike in COVID-19 infections and deaths.
These measures he reiterated, include compulsory wearing of facemasks, regular washing of hands under running water and/ or use of hand sanitisers, and maintenance of recommended social and physical distancing in public places, among others.
Obaseki warned,/"Consequent on the rapid rise in infections and death from COVID-19, government may be forced to implement a lockdown if there is a failure to follow the directives for vaccination and compliance with the Non-Pharmaceutical Intervention (NPIs) in order to halt the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 which is currently raging within the state."