The Cross River State Ministry of Health has donated COVID-19 items to the University of Calabar COVID-19 Task Force to assist the university in the prevention and management of the pandemic on campus.

This is ahead of resumption on Friday, 5 February 2021, for academic activities.

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The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Betta Edu, who donated the items in Calabar, commended the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Florence Obi, for setting up the Task Force on campus.

The items donated include cartons of liquid soap, face shield, cartons of surgical gown, surgical gloves, face mask among others.

She told the Task Force that she had earlier advocated for school resumption, but with strict compliance to the protocols of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the Presidential Task Force.

She advised them to strengthen the university’s medical centre, thereby urging them to form a strong enforcement team that would ensure that students, staff and visitors into the school comply with the guidelines.

“To achieve this mandate, I want to urge the committee to also get Protective Personnel Equipment, sanitisers and infrared themometer for the frontline workers.

“The no mask no entry for all students, staff and visitors should be strictly enforced. I want to also recommend that the Rapid Gene Test Kit should also be used for testing on campus.

“For us as a State, we are going to also provide PPEs, N95 face mask for the Task Force and others items as we move one.

“At this moment, we are going to incorporate the University’s COVID-19 Task Force into the State Emergency Operation Centre for idea sharing and efficient management of the pandemic in the State,” she said.

She called on the Vice-Chancellor to allocate operational vehicles to them with a view to enable them effectively enforce the protocols on campus.

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Speaking earlier, Chairman of the Task Force, Dr. Kingsley Akaba, told the Commissioner that the University of Calabar is a heterogeneous community, hence they needed her support and collaboration.

He however, commended the State Government for been the first State in the country to initiate the use of face mask as one of the ways to prevent the spread of the virus.

“We are here today to seek for collaboration and support because we want to have a seamless academic session as students prepare to resume school on February 5.

“On our path, with the support of the Vice Chancellor, we have already set modalities in place that would help us to effectively implement the COVID-19 protocols on campus,” he said.