By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu
Abia State Government says it will not hesitate to seal-off both private and public health facilities who are in the practice of turning patients back in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.
A release by the secretary to the state government, Barr. Chris Ezem, who doubles as the chairman of the COVID-19 committee, says that any suspected case of COVID-19 should not be rejected but referred for test.
The release further expressed worry over the flouting of the COVID-19 directives by churches, and strictly warned religious leaders not to allow their places of worship become veritable grounds of spreading the virus, adding that worship centres that continued on the contrary would be clamped down.
Abia government also directs local government chairmen to review the enforcement processes in their various areas to ensure a more efficient output.
It therefore directs that directives on burials, markets, religious and other activities should be intensified, while warning that burial permits should not be commercialized.