Buchanan, Grand Bassa County – The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Abehinnyuen Community of Hope, a not-for-profit organization working in Grand Bassa, Rivercess and Margibi Counties, has called on Liberians to stop politicizing the Coronavirus outbreak.
Solomon Baka Reeves, in a telephone conversation with reporters, stressed that politicizing the pandemic would be dangerous to the country’s safety.
Mr. Reeves, who currently resides in New York, USA, wants Liberians to focus on preventing the virus instead of speculating that the Liberian Government wants to use the virus as a “money-making tool”.
“In 2014, when it was reported that the deadly Ebola virus was in Liberia, some people, including some government officials did not believe and therefore refused to put necessary measures in place – such as minimizing socializing and closing the borders with the Ebola infested countries like Sierra Leone and Guinea,” he recalled.
“That resulted in many (Ebola) deaths in Liberia, so I want to let all of you my fellow Liberians to know that the Coronavirus is deadly and uncontrollable.
“Developed countries with the best medical capabilities are struggling to curtail this virus for which we all need to fight to ensure that the virus leaves the world”.
The Liberian philanthropist cautioned people who are “passing propaganda around that Liberia is free from Coronavirus and the government wants to use the virus as money-making tool, to desist from such myth and misinformation”.
“The propagandists and their propagandas pose serious danger to our country Liberia and its people”.
Mr. Reeves said thousands of people are dying around the world on a daily basis from the virus, adding that “COVID-19 is nothing to joke with”.
“Right now, advanced countries like America, Great Brittan, China, Israel, Italy, just to name few, are struggling to find the proper medications that will curtail this virus but to no avail. There are new cases every day and many deaths daily,” he said.
He appealed to Liberians to stop spreading false information about COVID-19 including misinformation that the “Liberian Government is faking the existence of the virus to get money from the international community”.
“The Virus is real and it is confirmed that Liberia has only three cases due to the measures in place by Government, World Health Organization (WHO) and Center for Disease Control (CDC), and that we need to join hands to ensure that the virus is curtail to save lives,” he said.
Reeves mentioned that Liberia and Africa need to be very grateful to God because the death rate of the pandemic is not high on the continent as compare to the North American, European, Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
“Coronavirus is not about President George Weah and the Government, CDC, Liberty Party, Unity Party, ANC …, it’s something that we all need to fight and stop spreading false messages that will inflame the situation”.
He then urged people to follow the preventive measures that have been prescribed by health authorities.
“We saw how Ebola killed so this should make us to take the Coronavirus seriously and comply with the necessary precautions,” he said.
