By Anthony Areh
Commercial banks in Enugu in South East Nigeria have taken precautionary measures against corona virus infection by limiting the number of customers into the banking hall to five at a time to reduce human contact.
Many customers are kept outside the banking hall in a regulated order to enter the banking halls to transact business.
A bank staff, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that all banks had restructured their work spaces, which was in line with acceptable social distancing policy given by World Health Organisation (WHO).
According to him, aside from providing hand sanitisers, entrance into the bank had been regulated, thereby, limiting the number of customers into the bank at a time to five people.
“We allow five people to transact their business inside the bank, when the five customers are through with their transactions, another set of five will then be allowed in.
“We are taking this measure to prevent the spread of the virus and to avoid human contact,” he said.
Some banks’ customers expressed joy over the banks’ precautionary measures to save the lives of their customers.
Mrs Oguchukwu Okeke, a bank customer, said she was told to take a number at the gate of the bank and wait for her turn as only five customers were allowed into the bank.
Mr Jude Agu said that as the bank could not provide enough sanitisers, the customers were asked to remain outside as only five customers were allowed to come in.
“Customers are given numbers when they come to the bank, because the management calls only five numbers to go in.
“So, whenever your number is called, that is when you will go into the bank and no number will be called until the first five comes out.
“For me, it is a welcome development, it is a way of saving lives because prevention is better than cure especially in this particular situation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Dan Uzo, a customer at one of the old generation banks, said that customers were compulsorily required to use hand sanitisers at the entrance of the bank as customers were allowed in, once they used the sanitiser.
Miss Oluchi Ijeoma, a bank customer in one of the old generation banks, said that customer were allowed to go into the banks in their numbers as long as they sanitised their hands properly at the entrance of the bank.
