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Protect Journalists From The Deadly COVID-19, Climatologists Tells Media Employers
A Scientist and Climatologist, Dr. Piman Hoffman has called on Media Organizations to provide their reporters with necessary safety materials that would protect them from getting infected from the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Dr. Piman Hoffman who is also the Assistant Director, African Climate Reporters in Nigeria made the call while briefing Environmental Reporters on the need to be objective and safety conscious in their reportage especially on the current state of the pandemic in Kaduna, Nigeria.
The Scientist explained that, Journalists appear to be the most exposed to the pandemic than security and medical personnel due to their interactions while discharging their duties, hence the need to be given protective materials that will safeguard them from contracting the deadly virus.
According to Dr. Hoffman, Journalists while pursuing their daily mandates, work round the clock to provide readers with comprehensive up-date on the Covid- 19 global pandemic with a view to delivering authentic and vital information on the out break that is consuming lives and infecting thousands world-wide.
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The Assistant Director, African Climate reporters regretted that Large number of African Journalists have put their lives in danger while carrying out their duties regarding COVID-19 update by visiting Market places ,Train stations, Car parks, Churches, Mosques and other social gatherings including Hospitals and diagnosis medical Centers.
According to him, the out break of the pandemic has affected many private media houses to the extend that they can’t pay their staff normal salaries, while others were forced to reduce the number of workers,
“If medical practitioners/health care workers can used Protective clothes and equipment to prevent them from catching coronavirus and other highly infectious diseases, then the media has nothing to protect them against the virus, hence the need to help health and environmental reporters with necessary items”
“The danger is On the daily basis ,in as far as journalists meet and interview many peoples without knowing their health status, hence the need for all media organization to provide the needed materials to protect their reporters”
He advised owners of Media organizations ranging from electronic, print and on-line to provide facemask, Hand globe, sanitizers to their reporters in order to protect them against getting infected with the virus.
“Journalists are the most exposed to the pandemic than any other Humanitarian NGO/CSO, or medical personnel ,this is as a result of how they carry out their daily assignments in both rural and urban centres.
To tackle the issue of misinformation on the daily outbreak of the pandemic, he said there was need for Civil Society and Non-governmental organizations with ministries of health to intensify media briefing on the rising cases of the virus for precise and accurate reporting.
The Climate Expert stressed the need for every media organization to organise a periodic training on ways of preventing the spread of the pandemic, either through on-line or webinar to enable them understand the Dynamics behind Covid 19 and other tropical diseases in their region.
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