The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) will begin its public sanitisation exercise aimed at reducing the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Wednesday, March 25, the Department of Public Information (DPI) has reported.
Director of the Solid Waste Management, Walter Narine explained the exercise will begin promptly at Bourda Market at 4am and will target areas which are more populated during the day.
“Effective from tomorrow morning we will roll out a plan to sanitise some streets in Georgetown. Those areas which are prone to have heavy traffic; we are trying to address those first. We will have the detergents and other sanitising chemicals in the water and we will wash these areas,” Narine was quoted by DPI as saying.
Narine noted the importance of cleansing exercise.
“I know people might want to ask why is it important to sanitise streets or pavements. But when we sneeze or cough and we don’t have a tissue most times those droppings get to the roadway… research has shown that COVID-19 stays on plastic items for about three days and asphalt roads for about one day,” he highlighted.
Narine said that several Government Agencies and private entities have provided significant assistance in their effort to combat the transmission of the virus.
“We have support from the Ministries of Public Health and Communities and also from DDL who would have provided the Municipality with some detergent which we are grateful for.”
Narine also noted that there is no severe disruption of solid waste collection services at households and commercial spaces.
“You may see some heaps along the commercial areas but with the rotation system, staff members at the solid waste department are confident that within 24 hours this issue will be addressed,” Narine assured.
The life-threatening situation has also caused the Solid Waste Department to implement additional protective equipment and sanitising liquids for the safety of its workers, DPI reported.
