The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) at the weekend deployed 250 personnel to enforce compliance to all directives by the Rivers State Government against the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The state Commandant, NSCDC, Muktar Lawal, who spoke in Port Harcourt said the team of Disaster Management Personnel was constituted in line with the directive of the corps’ Commandant-General, Abdullahi Mohammadu.
He said the specially selected and trained personnel of the corps would join the team of security operatives of other formations in the state to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
Lawal said the disaster management operatives were deployed in 23 local government areas in the state to respond speedily to the Coronavirus emergency situations across the state.
He said two hotlines had been dedicated for prompt responses adding that some medical teams with ambulances had been stationed at strategic locations to swiftly respond to distressed calls.
He said: “Our operations personnel have since been on vehicular and foot patrols to ensure the order on measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in the state is carried out to the latter.
“As measures taken to safeguard our personnel in the command from the Coronavirus pandemic, the medical team of the command had been mandated to carry out test on body temperature of all incoming personnel including visitors coming into the command.
“As enshrined in the core mandate of NSCDC, during this period of emergency, the command has embarked on sensitisation campaigns within the state on the need to observe basic hygiene of regular washing of hands, frequent use of sanitizers as well as keeping unwashed hands from face or nose”.
Lawal appealed to the people of Rivers to remain calm and allow the taskforce inaugurated by Governor Nyesom Wike swing into action to prevent the spread of the pandemic in the state.

By Mike Odigwe