Zoomlion to fumigate police facilities  

The police have engaged the services of Zoomlion Ghana Limited to fumigate and disinfect all 1,249 facilities of the service in the country.

The exercise, which will span one month, is part of measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19. 

It will cover police training schools, police stations, barracks, markets, offices and cells.

The scope of work includes cleaning of surroundings, fumigation against bed bugs at training schools and the disinfection of all police facilities.

Launch

Launching the exercise at the Police Training School in Accra yesterday, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr James Oppong Boanuh, said the health and safety of personnel of the service were key to ensuring security in the country.

He expressed delight at the long-standing relationship the police had with Zoomlion, explaining that over the years, the company had partnered the Ghana Police Service in clean-up exercises across the country.

“This fumigation and disinfection exercise has become crucial following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. So you will notice that this one is a special one, quite different from the ones that we have had previously with Zoomlion.

“As you are all aware, the Ghana Police Service, supported by other sister security agencies, had partnered the Ghana Health Service as frontliners to help fight this pandemic.

 “In so doing, it is not surprising to have a number of security personnel come into contact with infected persons and get infected themselves,” he said.

Mr Boanuh, therefore, explained that the exercise formed part of measures to ensure that COVID-19 frontline workers and their families were protected in the discharge of their statutory functions and duties.

He thanked the government for its intervention to ensure the safety of frontline workers.

Exercise

The IGP said the fumigation and disinfection exercise would take place simultaneously across the country.

“It is believed that the exercise, when completed, will create a safer and more conducive atmosphere for habitation. The rest will be to depend on the preventive measures outlined by President Akufo-Addo, against the COVID-19,” he added.

Mr Boanuh commended the management of Zoomlion for agreeing to partner the police for the  exercise at short notice.

He assured policemen who had devoted their lives to enforcing adherence to the COVID-19 protocols in the country that appropriate measures had been put in place to support them in their duties.

He said a COVID-19 technical team had been constituted at the Police Headquarters to deal with issues related to the pandemic.

Test results

The Director-General in charge of Services at the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr George Alex Mensah, said his outfit was awaiting the results of COVID-19 tests conducted on policemen who were on frontline duties during the three-week lockdown period.

All officers and men at the Adentan Police Station, where some COVID-19 suspects were sent, had been asked to self-isolate themselves.

Mr Mensah said this on the sidelines at the launch of the Police-Zoomlion partnership fumigation and disinfection exercise.

“As of now, we have not received any positive results,” he said, adding that those involved were about 5,000.