THOUSANDS of volunteers joined ranks with the Civil Defence to disinfect public places as part of national efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), writes the GDN's Reem Al Daaysi.

Nearly 10,000 volunteers from across all the four governorates were assigned by the Interior Ministry to the Civil Defence to receive training to fight Covid-19 through theoretical and practical implementation of precautionary measures.

According to Civil Defence Hazmat Unit First Lieutenant Rashed Al Obaidli, the volunteers were divided across fire stations closest to their homes and received theoretical and practical training on proper wearing and disposal of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), proper precautionary disinfection of public places along with knowledge of various chemicals used during the process.

“The volunteers first attend lectures where they are briefed about the precautionary measures – how to wear protective clothing and how to disinfect,” he told the GDN.

“Then we take them to public places close to their homes.

“From among the volunteers we choose five who will take down volunteers’ temperatures, names and information.

“Then we provide all of them with precautionary gear such as suit, masks, gloves, eye goggles and a disinfecting backpack.

“Volunteering is very important because we alone can’t cover all of Bahrain and the dedication, hard work, and professionalism of the volunteers showed us a lot.

“I want to reassure all the volunteers that this is a precautionary disinfection; we don’t take them near any positive cases, we only take them to public places under the full supervision of the Civil Defence.”

Around 19,000 disinfection operations were carried out by the Civil Defence from February 26 until Friday, with more than 9,000 operations targeting government buildings.

According to the Civil Defence general administration director general, 3,546 disinfection operations were carried out at the kingdom’s entrance points, 623 at designated Covid-19 isolation facilities, 651 at private sector companies and buildings, 2,763 at various locations and 1,203 on vehicles.

Meanwhile, Egyptian Ahmed Mohammed, who was part of the team that disinfected The Avenues, said volunteering for Bahrain was “a duty owed by both citizens and residents”.

“As soon as I heard about the volunteering opportunity I signed up immediately because this is the least I can do for Bahrain,” he told the GDN.

“The lectures were very beneficial and as soon as I received the call, I rushed forward because there are many places to cover and solidarity is crucial so that more people can come forward and the effort can be divided.

“By volunteering to disinfect we are keeping this disease at bay and protecting our families and homes.”

Bahraini Hussain Ismael highlighted that volunteering in these extraordinary times was a national duty and urged all citizens and residents to come forward to the best of their abilities in order to give back to Bahrain and stand in solidarity during difficult times.

“These extraordinary times are taking over the entire world and we volunteered to give back to our country even if it was the smallest of efforts,” he said.