Africa Press-Nigeria:
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Friday said his administration would reintroduce the lockdown strategy of fighting the Coronavirus pandemic if residents continued to disobey the safety rules of physical distancing and wearing of face masks designed to contain the virus.
The governor in a statewide broadcast to mark the first year of his second term in office decried the spread of the virus despite strict measures he put in place to contain it lamenting that 12 persons had so far died of COVID-19 in the state.
Wike, who reeled out many of his achievements, called on Rivers people no matter their political affiliation to join hands with his administration to build a stable and vibrant economy.
The governor, who observed that in the last six months, the coronavirus visited humankind with pains sorrow and destruction, said it was unfortunate that the speed and vigour of his government’s emergency response measures could not stop the virus from spreading in Rivers.
He said the people must accept the reality of living with the virus and its consequences until the discovery of an effective vaccine and prayed for quick success for the global search for vaccines and therapeutics.
But he said prior to the discovery of an effective facing, everybody has the responsibility to strictly and effectively comply with the established mitigating measures.
He said: “As at today, we’ve painfully lost twelve persons, and probably more, to the death pangs of the coronavirus. For us, every life matters; and every life lost is a monumental tragedy, not only to the immediate families, but also, to all of humanity.
“Regrettably, we have observed that the advisories, directives and regulations on social distancing and the compulsory wearing of face masks are being ignored at alarming proportions in the State, much to our collective discomfort and peril.
“So many people are moving about on our streets and into other public places without face masks. We have sighted businesses, including banks and shopping centres attending to customers without face masks or maintaining physical distancing.
