Monrovia – As part of the efforts to boost the fight against the deadly coronavirus in the country, Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) has given 12 medical institutions in several counties 9,000 gallons of fuel to keep their generators at their facilities running.
The distribution of the fuel to the healthcare facilities was done Thursday at the Head Office of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company.
Speaking at the Managing Director of LPRC Madam Marie Urey Coleman said the gesture to the healthcare facilities is a way of joining the fight against the coronavirus.
The Managing Director of LPRC also praised healthcare workers in Liberia for their efforts in combating the deadly coronavirus that is ravaging the country.
The Managing Director of LPRC cautioned Liberians about the wearing of masks, social distancing and also washing of hands to reduce the spread of the virus.
“Now, another thing is to maintain the health facilities. And I think this is where we as an entity are trying to support and help to maintain the health services. Whatever can -we are in this fight together,” Madam Coleman said.
She added government entities need to support each other against the fight of COVID-19. That is to encourage and spread the news that COVID-19 is real and it is hitting us, she said.
“We know that the government has taken the forefront and we are just in the line of support. So, today we saw it fit that we are the line of the petroleum business and we know that we are part of the government –you know the hospital and our healthcare facilities need diesel petroleum to be able to fight COVID-19 and keep the health services open,” Madam Coleman added.
In response, the Medical Director of Redemption Hospital Dr. Williamatta S. Williams-Gibson praised the company for joining the fight against the coronavirus.
“We at Redemption Hospital, we run 24 hours services and we are totally free. We run both generators and LEC (the Liberia Electricity Corporation). At times LEC is on but it cannot power our different medical equipment. And so, we have a 250KVA generator that we have to run. We also have an oxygen plant that the generator has to operate because we have an absolution unit that is also catering to COVID-19 patients. So, the fuel is going to be used for its internal purpose,” Madam Gibson said.
Adding up, an administrator of Star Base Hospital Adrian Brown said their 65-bed facility during the past weeks has been hit by the virus. He added that their healthcare facility has now turned into a critical care unit for COVID-19 patience.
“This gesture is not just about petroleum products. It is not just about people trying to be nice. It is about a call to national duty. When you look at the number we have been having during the past six week, the numbers were very high but when the President instructed the Minister of Health to introduce new health protocols, we saw the number coming down,” Brown said.
The Star Base Medical Facility, JFK Hospital, ELWA Hospital, St. Joseph Catholic Hospital, Redemption Hospital, 14 Military Hospital, Phebe Hospital in Bong County, Liberia Government Hospital in Bomi County, CH Rennie in Margibi County, the Liberia Government Hospital in Bomi County, Jackson F. Doe Hospital and the E&J Hospital in Nimba County were the medical facilities that benefited from the gesture of LPRC.