By: Akpabli Daniel
Yao/Akatsi/VR
Residents of Akatsi
Tatorme in the Akatsi South District of the Volta Region are yet to recover
from a corona virus stigma as local media houses blew a confirmed Covid-19 alarm
from the suburb about three weeks ago.
The alleged recorded case
which the radio station broadcasted, had it that, one Covid-19 case has been
confirmed in the Tatorme causing many youth in the town rushing to the area in
their numbers to see the victim as it was said that, an ambulance was coming to
convey the victim to the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) for treatment.
Same information has also
been widely circulated in the social media causing a lot more inconveniences to
the people in the area.
The stigma which has left
an irreparable damage according to the residents in the area is affecting them
emotionally, psychologically and economically as they called on authorities to
come and help address the challenge to enable them have the breathing space to
carry out their daily activities in the District.
Speaking to the Finder,
some residence who are market women said, they are unable to make sales when
they go to the market after the confirmed positive information went viral as
customers are avoiding them for the fear of being affected with the virus.
“one of my customers from whom I buy maize for
retailing finally agreed to sale to me but gave me a condition; which is to go
home and send her the money through Mobile Money as she said I’m coming from a
Covid-19 confirmed area” she lamented.
Others said, the
Commercial Motor riders sometime refused to carry residents and anyone who
wanted to be taken to Tatorme.
“those who are willing to
offer the service end up charging exorbitant fees of times two what they used
to take initially. Instead of GHC1.50, they take GHC3.00 and even more”
Speaking to the Authorities
in the Akatsi South Market, Mr. Ernest Yao Ahiawodzi, Deputy Revenue Inspector
confirmed the rumor of a Covid-19 case being recorded and circulated in the
media about Akatsi South District and specifically Tatorme.
He stated that even
though the case has been widely broadcasted by the radio stations, causing fear
and panic in Akatsi and more particularly in the market, no complaint of
stigmatization in the market has been officially report to their outfit.
He noted that, some
market folks have stopped coming to the market due the development making
market authorities to quickly put up some arrangement to manage the situation.
“For the fact that the
Virus is invisible, the fear of being affected is very high as no one knows who
a carrier, forcing us to instill the necessary precautionary protocols to bring
sanity in the market”. He explained.
He further warned that,
anyone who demonstrates such behavior of stigmatizing on another in the market
will not be spared as he called on people in the District to desist from such and
many forms of discrimination but rather join force to combat the Virus.
Meanwhile, no other
positive case has been confirmed in the area and the District as a whole, as
all contact traced so far on the said positive victim also proved negative of
the virus.
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