PFO through Sergio de Mello team, SDMT, finishes all its plan as a respond to the outbreaks of Covid-19 in Najaf.

Sergio de Mello's team has completed all it campaigns assigned to the Peace and Freedom Organization (PFO) plan in Najaf Governorate, to tackle outbreaks of the new Coronavirus. On April 4, 2020, the team began preparing the requirements for implementing the response plan, as preparations included an interview with Colonel Rashid Thabet, Director of Civil Defense, who greatly facilitated the task of the team, followed with theoretical training for Sergio de Mello members in Najaf about how to contain pollution, mechanisms and strategies for disinfection and sterilization.

After completing all the preparations, Sergio de Mello's team started the first interventions on April 5, 2020 in partnership with the Directorate of Civil Defense in Al-Mishkhab District in the south of the Najaf governorate and in coordination with Colonel Salah, Director of Civil Defense in the district and Health Authorities and the District Commissioner, where a complete containment of pollution and general disinfection was carried out for the area of El-Bada Freeh in Al-Mishkhab and local sterilization of the infected houses. The team's operations included sterilizing 14 infected homes in the mentioned area. Then the team went to the district Center for the purpose of completing sterilization of the second focus area of the Corona virus outbreak, which consists of 8 shared houses inhabited by people, some of whom were recorded infected with the dangerous virus, to finish the first day of its work tasks.

For the second day, April 6, 2020, the team continued to implement its plan to go to the Kufa, in the Abbasiyya district, where the contamination process was completed by sterilizing all the floors and areas surrounding the outbreak of Corona virus, which included disinfection and sterilization of the infected houses and its surroundings.

For the third day April 7, 2020 the team was assigned to purify and sterilize Al- Shu’ara neighborhood in the center of the Najaf Governorate, where the neighborhood is characterized by a high number of infections due to the presence of a popular Bazar (Poor people Bazar) in it and indeed the team has ended all Sterilization and disinfection works in the bazar of the Shu’ara neighborhood and the residential neighborhood associated with it, where the total area covered by the campaign, which contain commercial shops and social, religious and cultural buildings, is 800 x 500 m distributed among four sub streets and 4 main streets. While implementing the plan in the third day the team decided to name the plan (you with us) In honor of the role of the team coordinator who has infected with Coronavirus and currently subject to quarantine, this name came as an appreciation for his active role in the team.

Sergio de Mello's team completed all the work assigned to it in cooperation with the provincial administration and the civil defense directorate on April 8, 2020, while it was agreed that the local team members in Najaf would continue sterilization and disinfection work according to the theoretical and practical training they have received recently.

On the other hand, the current context in Najaf governorate is very dangerous because of the lack of commitment by the citizens to health instructions and other directives issued by the relevant authorities, as there is no milestone in the curfew or the application of social divergence, as many restaurants, for example, are opened as well as for the markets…etc.

On a related level, the team encountered difficulties, and if they were overcome, it contributed to the loss of valuable time for the team, the most important of was the lack of response by the Mukhtar of the Area (the one who is responsible of the District) in cooperation with the authorities in charge of implementing the containment plan, including Sergio de Mello team because of the relations and their traditions, as some of them see that Mukhtar’s contribution as a guide to the infected houses is something defective !!

On the other hand, the terrain of the Al-Mishkhab district has played another role that hindered the work due to the presence of unlined garbage and unsafe crossings.

Finally, the biggest factor remains the gathering of citizens and their friction with the team, as the team is forced to repeat the sterilization process for its members or the area in which the pollution is to be contained. However, one of the most difficult obstacles that faced the team is the refusal of the owners of houses that had infected cases to sterilize their homes, such as a house in the Kufa district, he refused to sterilizing his house.
In an invisible way, Sergio de Mello team, the arm of the Peace and Freedom Organization, has contributed, due to the high discipline and good preparation, despite its lack of preparation and implementation, the highest levels of caution and its commitment to good work standards, all that has contributed to raise the morale of citizens in Najaf.