COVID-19: LSWRC Embarks On Hand Washing Advocacy To Banks, Motor Parks, Others

The Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LSWRC), on Tuesday, embarked on advocacy to financial institutions, motor parks and other public places across the metropolis to sensitise residents on the importance of hand washing with soap under running water to flatten the curve of COVID-19 in the State.

Speaking during the exercise, tagged “Stop-The-Spread”, Executive Secretary of LSWRC, Mrs. Funke Adepoju said the advocacy was geared towards arousing the consciousness of residents to take responsibility and support efforts of the State Government to curb further spread of the global pandemic.

Adepoju also stated that the initiative is in furtherance of ‘WASH’ which is an acronym for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene – a key health issue with international organisations and the focus of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 6.

She said, “As we know, COVID-19 is a ‘WASH’ disease and one of the ways to effectively ward off the threat of the pandemic is to ensure we imbibe regular intake of clean water, good personal hygiene practices and top-notch sanitation of our environment”.

“Our handwashing advocacy is essential to stop the spread of the virus. The fact is, aside from using sanitisers, washing your hands with soap under running water is one of the effective ways to fight the virus. Soap loosens the grip of the virus on the skin and destroys the outer layer of the virus, pulling it apart. As such, regular handwashing with soap means you can remove the virus and wash it away before it has the chance to infect you”, Adepoju explained.

Affirming that the State has done a lot to fight the scourge since its outbreak, Mrs. Adepoju emphasised the need for public support of government initiatives, especially in terms of adhering to protocols established to stop the spread.

In her words “It has been well publicised that regular washing of hands with water and soap and maintaining a high level of hygiene is critical to ward off the threat of the virus. As the agency of government that holds the mandate to regulate the production, distribution, abstraction, consumption, supply and use of water as well as the quality of service, our advocacy is to emphasise the significance of handwashing with soap under running water at this crucial point in time”.

The Executive Secretary averred that the obvious connection between public health and clean water has further reinforced the need for all stakeholders to key into the vision of the present administration in the State to safeguard the health of residents, in line with the second pillar of the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda which is “Health and Environment”.