25 Aug 2021

Tutume Sub district Council chairman Mr Anthony Chibane says COVID-19 impedes on service delivery due to the staff being isolated or quarantined, hence the need to enforce safety and prevention protocols. 

Addressing an ongoing full council meeting in Tutume on Monday, Mr Chibane said to date 80 employees had affected by COVID-19, including 11 councillors, 10 support staff and 59 staff members. 

Regrettably two people had died, a councilor and a staff member. He said being on isolation or quarantine had led to shortage of staff, which affected the council’s daily business. 

“For us to win the war against COVID-19, we need strict adherence to all the set protocols and we should enforce this protocols religiously,” he said. 

Furthermore, he said despite efforts made by government to fight the pandemic, they continued to see blatant disregard of the regulations as evidenced by 613 cases of lack of compliance that were recorded with 202 of them being failure to wear a mask. 

He added there were some who continued to gather and consume beer despite the ban on alcohol, noting a total of 39 people were charged for selling traditional brew without a license. “Let us do the right things to save our lives,” he emphasised. 

On vaccine updates, the Chairman stated that vaccination against this virus was critical and if supply permitted, they would have vaccinated everybody. 

He noted the second dose of Astra Zenecca resumed on 16 August 2021 and they had cumulatively inoculated 30189 people of the ages 45 and above of which 8806 have been fully vaccinated. 

However, the Chairman noted with concern the increasing number of non-communicable diseases, which caused premature death and severe disability among survivors. 

These diseases, he said represented a huge burden that put enormous pressure on an already strained health system and resources. 

He appealed to the public to adopt healthy lifestyles to avoid these preventable diseases. 

ENDS