The Ministry of Health has completed a two-day mass testing of COVID-19 on the community of Bakau.
The exercise which came off a case that was registered in Bakau, has had a total of 550 people tested in the community of Bakau and its environs. The 27-year-old confirmed COVID-19 patient in Bakau Cape Point said to have had no travel history to any affected country. She is currently isolated at the treatment facility.
The Gambia has now recorded a total of seventeen (17) COVID 19 confirmed cases, nine (9) recovered and are released, one death and seven (7) are currently at the treatment facility.
The Health and COVID response team conducted the Bakau exercise with the assistance of the National Youth Council.
Lamin Darboe, the Executive Director, National Youths Council (NYC) said the young people have been at the forefront in the fight against this pandemic, even when the Gambia did not register a single case. “The young people were online, and using other platforms to sensitise the people about the virus, and that is the same momentum we are still using,” he said.
He also noted that the young people are the majority in this country and that if they are able to tap from their potentials, they are of the hope that COVID 19 will soon become history in this country.
Mr. Darboe said the youth council has embarked on numerous sensitisation activities in the country but the one they had just conducted in Bakau was a little different, as it was a house-to-house sensitisation.
He assured of their continual support to the Health ministry in their struggle to contain and eliminate COVID-19.
The Executive Director intimated that they had mobilised people from the community of Bakau itself because they wanted to avoid inter-community transmission of the virus. “We want people to stay in their communities and educate their family members, friends and other people within their community,” he added.
Recounting their efforts, the Youth Council boss said they started with the distribution of handwashing buckets, out-reach to the border communities and now they are on the sensitisation process. “Currently we are putting in efforts to mobilise our youth organisations to put in strategies as to what next after COVID 19, as some of them are in to entrepreneurship,” he added.
Tida Njie, who volunteered to do the test, said COVID -19 is real and that people should not joke with the disease.
Lamin Dibba, councillor in Bakau, thanked the Ministry of Health, and the National Youth Council for the good work, and the people of Bakau for their cooperation.
Adam Faye, a resident of Bakau New Town noted that once the country has started to register local transmission is important for people to test and know their status so that they will not infect others.
Yankuba Bojang said the coming of the health officials in Bakau is timely Sheriff Gomez, former Minister of Youth and Sports resident in Bakau, called on all the residents of Bakau to do the test and urged the health authorities to do similar tests in other communities in the country.
Jao Massary said he normally shop at the Bakau market that is why when he heard that there was a mass test he volunteered to do it.
