Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc has advised her customers to stick to all the safety guidelines as work resumed yesterday after the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory.
The bank in a statement released to the public, said “We hope that you and your loved ones are taking all the necessary precautions to stay safe and well during this Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We would also like to thank you very much for your understanding and patience during the period of skeletal banking operations.
“For us, the COVID-19 Pandemic is first and foremost a humanitarian challenge, so our primary focus is to safeguard lives. As we go into the phased easing of lockdown protocols, we need to work with you to make our return to work safe.”
The bank stated that “One of the major places we have to work together to keep everyone safe is in our branches, some of which will reopen from May 4, 2020. We have put together some key areas of collaboration which, with your active participation, will enable us to greatly mitigate a potential spread of the Coronavirus.”
The key areas of collaboration, according to the bank, the most effective way to curb the spread of the Coronavirus is by protecting ourselves at all times. That is why it is absolutely imperative that we work together to ensure adequate personal protection when banking halls reopen.
“Physically keeping away from others, for now, goes a long away in neutralising the ability of the Coronavirus to spread. Hence, we also have to work together in this area to ensure that we reduce physical contact to the barest minimum when you visit our branches.
“Studies suggest that the Coronavirus can survive on surfaces and physical materials, such as paper for several hours. Hence it is very important that we work together to prevent the spread of the virus through cash. On our part, we will pay extra diligence to cash handling and would only give out cash that has been adequately processed.
“As we recover from this pandemic, it is critical to have a Plan B, in the event that something goes wrong. That is why we have segmented our branches into sets, so that whilst we all make use of one set of branches, we could quickly switch to another set if we have to shut down a branch due to an outbreak. We will also be keeping customers informed of which set of branches will be open on a weekly basis.”
It also emphasised that the need for social distancing cannot be overemphasised in these times, and the authorities have strongly discouraged mass gatherings of any form, saying that customers can effectively help reduce the chances of such mass gatherings at the Bank’s branches by making use of its e-channels and self-service platforms.