The Nigerian government has announced the reopening of churches, mosques and hotels, effective from June 2, 2020.
The chairman of Nigeria’s Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, disclosed this on Monday during a televised briefing.
According to him, the new phase of the eased lockdow permits churches, mosques and hotels to open for the next 4 weeks but with strict conditions.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari had in March banned religious and social gatherings in Lagos and Abuja, the country’s major cities and Ogun state.
The new conditions for the worship centers and hotels to re-open state that worshippers must wear of facemasks, maintain social distancing and thoroughly wash their hands before joining the congregation.
Hotels are to also follow suit and limit large numbers of guests they allow in.
Restaurants, bars and other social gatherings remain closed while the interstate travel ban is still in force.
Schools are not left out as there is no communicated time for their re-opening.
Nigeria has recorded more than 10,500 confirmed cases of coronavirus outbreak as of June 2nd. But “the country has not reached the “peak” like some other countries in Europe and South America,” Mustapha said.
The country is ready to allow science and data determine her cautious advancement into the second phase of the eased lockdown for a period of 4 weeks, according to the task force on COVID-19.
The PTF has also made other recommendations to limit the risk of spread of the coronavirus in the Africa’s most populous country.
The recommendations include managed access to markets and locations of economic activities, compulsory use of face masks, temperature check in public places as well as intensive information campaign on the dangers of the deadly infection.
However, Mustapha reiterated that the move to ease the regulations does not mean that Nigeria is free from the pandemic as the country is advancing towards the peak of confirmed cases.
While countries continue to ease restrictions, World Health Organization has cautioned that countries should remain vigilant and ramp up testing to determine possible spikes in cases.
