Delta Police Apprehends 10 Face Mask Defaulters

Barely 24 hours after the Delta state government announced that defaulters of the compulsory use of face mask would be quarantined in any of the Isolation centres in the state, over 10 persons have been nabbed in the state capital.

The police on Tuesday at Okpanam road, near the popular Midwifery Market, Oshimili north local government area of the state, arrested defaulters of the face mask directive.

The police in four vehicles stormed one of the plazas, and picked a man for improper use of the face mask, before mounting a partial road block to enforce the compulsory use of face mask order.

Two tricycle operators were nabbed while their passengers who were not also on their the face masks were arrested.

Also apprehended were passengers and commuters who were not properly wearing the face mask.

Some wore it on their mouth alone, opening their nose while others wore it on the jaw opening their mouths and noses as many have turned it into fashion.

Those arrested were moved to the Okpanam Divisional Police station in their vehicles while others were taken in a tricycle with two police officers as escort.

However, the police who enforced the resolution of the state government were not on any protective kits apart from the face mask they were wearing at the time of the arrest.

Also absent, is an ambulance to convey the defaulters whom the state government branded as carriers of the virus to the Isolation centres if the police is to really enforce the resolution of government as it ought to be.

It would be recall that on Monday the state government warned that anyone seen in public without face mask would be taken to any of the Isolation Centres in the state.

Commissioner for Information in the state, Mr Charles Ehiedu Aniagwu, said that the measure was part of the resolutions reached at a meeting of the Technical Committee for the Prevention of Covid-19 in the state.

According to Aniagwu who briefed the media at the end of the meeting, relaxing the lockdown for economic reasons should not jeopardize the safety of the people.

He said that the compulsory use of face mask by all individuals appearing in public has commenced across the state, and that persons seen in public without the mask would be taken straight to the isolation centre, ``because it will mean that you have the virus and want to infect others’’.

He said further "Anybody seen in a tricycle, `Okada’ or taxi without face mask will lead to the impounding of the tricyle, okada or taxi, and any business centre that attends to a customer who is not putting on face mask risks being closed permanently".

It should be noted that the business center where the man was arrested was not shutdown as directed by the state government neither did the police impound the tricycles conveying the defaulters.

Meanwhile, several persons were seen today daring the state government over the use of face mask.