By Mayowa Olumuyiwa
The Ondo State Government has extended deadline for the compulsory use of face masks by one week.
Commissioner for Information, Donald Ojogo, made this known to our correspondent on Thursday.
It would be recalled that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu had, on Monday, constituted a five-man committee to look into the production and distribution of face masks to the entire residents.
Mr Ojogo announced May 1 as the new date for commencement of the directive jointly adopted by the Governors of the South West region among other measures, to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to him, the shift from April 24 is as a result of the apparent scarcity of the masks in desirable quantity to effect the enforcement of the directive.
He further added that against this backdrop, the government has intensified efforts to produce enough within this period.
The commissioner, however, encouraged residents who already have their face mask to continue to wear it for personal safety and protection.
It would be recalled that some residents expressed fears on how the proposed date of Friday earlier made by the governor could be realised.
Racting to this development, a cross section of persons who spoke to KaftanPost correspondent opined that the new date would not have been needful if the whole plan was well thought out.
One of the respondents named Mr. Akinfolarin says, “How was the governor thinking he will make the deadline when he just constituted a committee to oversee the mass production of the said mask barely four days ago and he wants a magic to happen. Where will they source the materials and make the masks available, let alone the herculean task of distributing to cover the entire 18 Local government areas of the state.”
Some citizens, however, advised that government should always guide against making hasty decisions that could portray them as incompetent and lacking capacity to think through.
It is hoped that the new date of May 1 will be met according to the Commissioner for Information.
