The Wa West District Assembly on Wednesday donated some hand washing and assorted items to the Wa West District Health Directorate as its contribution towards the fight against the novel COVID-19 pandemic.

They included: 30 veronica buckets and 20 metal stands, 20 handwashing basins; 20 dustbin containers, two boxes of liquid soap, 20 gallons (two litters) of hand sanitizers and five packets of tissue paper.

Handing over the items at Wechiau, Mr Edward Laabiri Sabo, the Wa West District Chief Executive (DCE), said the donation formed part of the measures put in place by the government to control the spread of the deadly virus in the country.

He said the assembly was expecting more of such items from the central government to be placed at other vantage points such as the chief palace and market centres within the District.

That, he said, would enable the people to practice regular hand washing and sanitizer use to avoid spreading or contracting the disease.

Mr Sabo said some military, immigration and police officers had been sent to the District to enforce the President’s directives on the fight against the COVID-19 such as the ban on social gatherings including funeral activities, and social distances among others.

He added that the Assembly had also constituted community watchdogs to report people who were violating those directives to the authorities and said anyone who was caught in the act would be dealt with according to the law.

Mr Clifford Veng, the Wa West District Director of Health Services, who received the items on behalf of the health directorate, said the donation was timely as it would help improve the health security of the personnel and other people visiting those facilities.

He said the items would be distributed among all the health facilities in the district, which included; one District Hospital, 31 Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds, seven Health Centres, one private and one Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) facilities.

Mr Veng therefore appealed to benevolent individuals and organisations to also come to their aid by providing them with more Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) to help ensure the safety of the health service providers in the District.

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, announced the closure of the country’s borders, partial lockdown of some parts of the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions and ban on all public gatherings as part of measures to prevent the spread of the virus.