PHOTO: Information Min. Ledgerhood Rennie/photo credit-Ahmed Jallanzo
Monrovia-“The government empathizes with Liberian families and foreign residents that have been personally afflicted by the ongoing third wave of the coronavirus pandemic that is currently affecting parts of Africa,” a Ministry of Information press release said over the weekend.
The government of President George Weah has assured the public “that all efforts are being exerted to halt further spread of the disease, including bringing into the country tens of thousands of additional doses of vaccines and ramping up testing,” said the released signed by Information Minister Ledgerhood J. Rennie.
“The capacity of the Incident Managing System is being boosted by additional rapid test machines in order to quickly identify and Isolate those infected, while concluding preparations to open more treatment and testing facilities across the country.
All this is happening as the government increases public awareness about the modes of transmission and enforces prevention protocols.
The government, however, admonishes everyone to refrain from exploiting people’s grief for their selfish interests. This is simply not the time for the constant social media fight over false information or imaginary statistics.
The Liberian health authorities have been thorough in their attempts to accurately record the number of sick and those who have unfortunately succumbed to the disease. To this date, testing, including of the dead, is regularly done at health facilities across the country in order to ascertain the real data.
The official Covid death toll since the crisis began in March 2020 is 120. Of this number, the deaths we have experienced during the third wave is 35.
This number is very undesirable, which is why it is utterly callous for some to try to exploit a national crisis by putting out inaccurate death statistics with the intention of riling up emotions. The public is reminded that additional measures on combating Covid are communicated only through official designated mediums. Everyone is therefore urged to remain calm and exert a united front against this common and existential threat,” the government press release concluded.