The Governor of Lagos state Babajide Sanwo-Olu has amended the lockdown restrictions in the state as churches and Mosque are set reopen from June 19 and June 21 2020.
The government made this announcement on Thursday following the the relaxation of the lockdown restrictions in the country announced by the Federal Government which included reopening of major economic hub across the country and also churches and mosques but based on the guidelines and protocol agreed by the state government.
The lagos state government didn’t totally agree as as the Lagos state commissioner for home affairs prince Anofiu Elegushi announced that churches and mosque in the state would remain closed. Due to the fact that the state remains the epicenter of the virus.
However Sanwo olu has reversed this statement as he announced on Thursday 4th, June during a live broadcast on update on COVID-19 situation in the state, held in Lagos House, Marina
he stated Muslim services will resume on June 19 while Church services would begin on June 21.
The Governor also stressed that children below age of 15 should not be allowed at religious gatherings restricted to Fridays and Sundays while the elderly from age 65 should stay away from worship centres.
He said:
Mass gathering during COVID-19 pandemic, can be of serious public health consequences. And there are documented evidence that mass gathering can increase the spread of the virus. And that’s why we will from 14 days time, precisely from the 19th. of June for our Muslim worshippers, from the 21st of June, for our Christian worshipers, we will be allowing all of our religious bodies to open at the maximum of 40 per cent of their capacity, and we’ll be working with them as being expected with the state Safety Commission.
“But we know that places of worship have different sizes. You cannot have beyond 500. And keeping that 40 per cent maximum capacity is really so important. No matter how big worship is, you cannot have more than 500 worshipers at once.”
“We’ll be encouraging people to have more than one service and to ensure that they keep their premises clean, disinfect before another round of worship can take place. We’ll also be advising that there should only be mandatory Fridays and Sunday services, all other night vigils and order regular services must be put on hold for now until we review our current situation.
“We ‘ll also be advising very strongly that persons below the age of 15 because of how well they walk around, and how they become difficult to hold down, that they should be excused from the places of worship.
he further said:
“Citizens that are above the age of 65 should not be allowed in into these places of worship. I mean, these are very important points that we need to re emphasize, because of how we see.”
Sanwo-Olu futher added that the State Safety Commission will not only register but will be going round to check level of compliance and at its discretion stop or restrict worship where they disagree to comply.
he also made a statement about the reopening Of primary and secondary schools,. He said they would remain shut because government is still consulting with all stakeholders in the sector and will come out with guidelines for their re-opening in two weeks time as on-line classes for tertiary institutions continue.
All other guidelines as announced by Presidential Task Force, PTF, remained in force.
Sanwo-Olu also stated that the government will deploy 570 buses on the Bus Rapid Transit BRT corridor and other routes next week saying the buses were yet to be cleared from the port.
Earlier, at a ministerial briefing Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf said it was not in a hurry to reopen the hospitality businesses in view of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
he said:
“Now that the state government is considering full opening of the state’s economy, additional, detailed and extensive guidelines would still be given by the government once plans are concluded to open the sector for full operations.
“I want to use this medium to call on owners of hotels and entertainment businesses to regularise their facilities with the government for proper planning, documentation and provision of palliatives.”
However Governor Sanwo-Olu stressed that the state government is not in a hurry and would not jeopardize the safety of the public, but must protect the citizens at all times.
(C) Control TV 2020.
