CEO tells people to follow rules

By ELIAS LARI
THE people of Western Highlands and neighbouring Highlands provinces are urged to follow the Covid-19 rules strictly to prevent infection and spread of the virus, authorities say.
Western Highlands Health Authority chief executive officer (CEO) David Vorst said the strict rules had to be taken seriously as the province now had 10 confirmed cases.
Vorst said there could be more positive cases as people refused to follow health safety practices.
He said health authorities in the province had warned that there was a new strain of the virus which was more infectious and an outbreak could easily overwhelm our health facilities.
Vorst said that the authority feared the worst might happen if the new highly-contagious UK strain of coronavirus entered the country and had written to the Covid-19 National Controller Centre (NCC) to put in place immediate restrictions for in-coming overseas travellers. Vorst said he was pleased an immediate ban was being instituted by the NCC on travellers from the UK as well as Italy, South Africa, the Netherlands, Nigeria, France, Spain, Germany, Ukraine, Bosnia and Croatia.
The NCC said entry approvals that had already been issued to people travelling from these countries would still be honoured, but new applications would be rejected, effective from last week.
“Authorities say it is common knowledge that the people on Western Highlands are not taking Covid-19 seriously and are not following the protective measures, saying the virus will not affect them but this is a stubborn attitude which must change,” Vorst said.
He said prevention was better than curing and an immediate change in attitudes and behaviour towards Covid-19 was needed.