Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Vincent Okpala says the State had activated what he called “alert mode” since January 16th, 2020 when Coronavirus broke out.
Dr. Okpala made this known at the floor of the State House of Assembly when he briefed the legislators on strategies put in place to manage COVID-19, should there be an index case in Anambra State.
The appearance at the Legislative House was following a motion of urgent public importance moved by the Majority Leader of the House, Pharmacist Nnamdi Okafor, urging the House to summon officials of the State Government saddled with responsibilities around the issue to appear before it.
Dr. Okpala revealed that the State has functional public health emergency operation centers located in Awka and Onitsha, adding that in all 21 Local Government Areas of the State, the Ministry has deployed Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers to raise alarm on any incident.
“The State is presently partnering transportation companies on including on their manifest, description columns for travelers to state countries they have been to in the past few months, before the day of their travel,” he concluded.
Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C-Don Adinuba who was also summoned by the House, revealed that his Ministry is collaborating with the Ministry of Health in the area of public enlightenment, to adequately sensitize the public on the disease.
“We have developed public service announcements in Igbo and English through the engagement of various Media outfits across the state and the awareness has been massive. Through this, we look to equip the citizens with the right information they need to remain safe,” Adinuba explained.
