The Rivers State Government at the weekend explained that its actions against the Carveton Helicopters was mainly to protect the health of residents against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
He said before the government took action against the airline, the company had ferried over 220 passengers into the state without subjecting them to the mandatory health check to ascertain their Coronavirus status. “Before their arrests, the Rivers State Government issued several warnings to Carveton and other operators to ensure that their pilots and passengers are tested by Rivers State Health Authorities. Carveton Helicopters disregarded the warnings.
He said the focus of the government was to ensure that nobody under the guise of transporting workers on essential services, ferry in persons capable of compromising the state’s health system.He insisted that the pilots and passengers must go through the standard practice of subjecting themselves to health checks before discharging their responsibilities in the state.
“If the Federal Government has done that in Abuja for Chinese officials that they invited, why do they insist that persons coming into Rivers State must enter the state without health check? What is the objective of these persons promoting unhindered access into Rivers State for persons from a coronavirus impacted state?