Banjul North NAM sensitises constituency on covid-19

Banjul North National Assembly Member (NAM) Ousman Sillah, who also doubles as chairperson of the Select-Committee on Health, Saturday took to the streets to sensitise his constituents on how to prevent the infection and spread of covid-19 disease outbreak in The Gambia.

Walking in the streets on foot with a Public Address system (PA), the Banjul North representative mounted on a vehicle and passed through every street in the constituency with his message of calling on the people to embrace frequent hand washing and social distancing rules being recommended by health officials.

“I urge every one of you to pay heed to the WHO and Ministry of Health advice of frequent hand washing with soap and social physical distancing to prevent the transmission of the covid-19 disease,” Hon. Sillah said.

He also appealed to his people to stay at home and indoors to avoid being infected or to transmit the covid-19 disease to others as it is already in The Gambia with four confirmed cases with one death.

“Covid-19 is real, highly infectious and can kill very fast. It can infect anyone and does not discriminate between children or adult, man or woman, rich or poor, black or white. It is a disease that does not have legs or wings to travel but is transmitted from one person to another or from an object to a person,” he said.

He explained to his electorates that, “there is no vaccine or drugs for cure covid-19 but the good news is that we can prevent its transmission and spread by adhering to the recommendations of WHO personal hygiene and social distancing.”

He emphasised the importance of prevention as the most effective and only way out for countries like The Gambia to defeat the dreadful and deadly disease as has been proven in other countries, including China, where the epidemic first began.       

The Banjul North representative was advising the people to “avoid going out much as possible, avoid gatherings, stop shaking hands, do not cough or sneeze on people or raise your bent elbow when coughing or sneezing.”

He explained that people have to avoid or wash their hands every time after touching door handles, car doors, keys, money or any surface that people touch with their hands. He also advised that they should be frequently cleaning the door handles, mobile phones, remote control devices with cloth soaked in soap (detergents) or hand sanitizers.

He advised his people to physically stay apart from each other in their homes, markets, offices, NAWEC points of sale (POS), banking halls, car parks, vehicles and any place where crowds gather.

On the social gatherings and street corner vous, the Banjul North NAM said, “I am urging you to avoid or stop these street vous and do your ‘Attaya’ brewing and drinking in your homes as the glasses (cas) and cigarettes you share could be sources of transmission of the Covid-19 disease.”

Hon. Sillah appealed to parents to keep their children out of the streets and ensure that they stay at home and indoors at all time.