Coronavirus Pandemic: FRSC Boosts Emergency Response Efforts
…As Corps Marshal Releases Ambulances, Medical Personnel To The PTF
By Cyber Era Correspondent
In a well thought out plan to bolster emergency response efforts aimed at flattening the curve of the coronavirus(COVID-19 ) pandemic, the Corps Marshal, road safety regulatory agency in Nigeria, the Federal Road Safety Corps(FRSC), Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, has approved the release of 5 basic life support ambulances together with teams of medical personnel of the Corps and 30 active Close User Group lines, to the Presidential Task Force(PTF) on COVID-19 as part of its commitment towards facilitating prompt evacuation of Coronavirus victims from point of identification to isolation centres.
In a statement by the Corps Public Education Officer, Corps Commander Bisi Kazeem, the approval came shortly after the request was presented to the Corps by the Country Director, United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety and Traffic Injury Prevention in Nigeria and the Coordinator, Ambulance and Emergency Response Unit of the PTF on COVID-19, Dr. Sydney Ibeanusi on Friday at the National headquarters of the Commission.
According to the FRSC spokesperson, Dr Sydney, who presented the request on behalf of the PTF, noted among others, that as the FRSC had always been at the fore front of national commitment and at this moment of global emergency, the PTF sought to further the existing collaboration with the Corps in the area of emergency response services in a bid to enhance established collective efforts geared towards combating the dreaded virus.
Dr. Ibeanusi also stated that the need to activate the ambulance service system had become grossly consequential at this time that records had shown a consistent rise in the number of infected persons in the country which was already less than two dozens away from a thousand cases.
He noted that irrespective of the fact that other agencies had also donated a number of ambulances for the said programme, the need for more could not be over emphasized and assured the Corps that the personnel detailed on this assignment would be fully catered for with adequate personal protective equipments(PPEs), and accommodation.
The Corps Marshal, while reiterating the commitment of the Corps to the fight against COVID-19 in the country, said that the Corps would always be readily available to offer the services of both personnel and its operational tools to support the Presidential Task Force in conquering the dreaded unseen enemy.
The detailed FRSC health workers will be first subjected to intense training on personal protection, handling of victims and decontamination of the vehicle among others. They are to work for 2 weeks, after which they will be subjected to 2weeks isolation by the PTF in designated centres and certified negative before they can be allowed to reunite with their families and report back to duty.
