Henry Uche
The Managment of Access Bank Plc on Monday shutdown the operation of one of its branches at Ligali Ayorunde Street, Vitoria Island, Lagos and subsequently quarantined all staff on duty last week Monday.
A statement made available to Daily Sun revealed that a lady who tested positive to the deadly (COVID -19) disease visited a friend of her’s who is also a staff of the bank on Monday March 16.
On discovering the development, the management decided to shutdown the branch and quarantine all staff on duty that day to avoid the spread of the disease through staff of the branch who may have had contact with the infected customer.
“A COVID-19 positive pateint visited our staff as a result, we decided to shut down our branch and quarantine our staff on duty that day.
“This decision is in line with government’s directive of not having more than 20 people gathered in the same place. This is because we strongly believe with the precautionary measures of social distancing to eliminate the spread of COVID -19” the said in a said in statement.
Meanwhile, First Bank of Nigeria says it is putting its customers first in spite of COVID-19. A statement delivered to its customers the bank reiterated it’s commitment of utmost care towards its customers.
According to the statement, all staff and visitors must undergo temperature screening and are required to either use the hand sanitisers provided or wash their hands with water and soap for 20 seconds before anyone would gain access to the bank’s business premises.
“With COVID-19 causing unforeseen disruption to well laid out plans for the year, we at FirstBank would like to reassure you that we care for you and have your best interests at heart. We prioritize your safety First.
“We have followed best practice international protocols including the recommended health and safety measures by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) for keeping our space safe for our staff and customers.”
The bank requested every non-essential visitors to contact the Bank through its digital and online means like telephone, online meetings, teleconferencing and others. Howbeit, its branches would remain open, but only a limited number of customers would be allowed in at a time in line with social distancing guidelines.
“On business continuity we are actively monitoring developments globally and locally around COVID-19 and we commend responses by responsible authorities. We are thankful for the good work being done by the government and the people. But we know that if we must limit the spread of the virus, we must intensify efforts across board.
In a related development Guaranty Trust Bank Plc in a statement to custmers said “We are constantly monitoring the latest news about the Coronavirus COVID-19 Outbreak and taking all the necessary safety measures to make sure you can continue to count on us, even in times like these. This includes making all our branches safe for our customers and staying in close engagement with all our staff to make sure that we are on top of any risk of exposure to the outbreak.
As our customer, these measures do not affect your access to our banking services. Our banking halls are open and our people are ready to assist you with all your banking needs. We would also like to remind you that you can use more of our online banking channels, as they give you access to all our banking services anywhere, anytime.”