New Telegraph

FG reintroduces restrictions on mass gatherings

…as fears of COVID-19 third wave heightens

 

Worried by mutations of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in some countries and the possible devastating consequences on the country, the Federal Government has reintroduced some lockdown era restrictions in the country.

 

The head of the Technical Secretariat of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, Dr. Mukhtar Mohammed, made the disclosure at a briefing in Abuja yesterday.

 

According to Mohammed, restrictions on mass gatherings have been re-imposed with no more than 50 persons allowed to congregate at a given period. He added that anyone without a face mask would no longer be granted access into government institutions.

 

Government meetings and travels have also been limited to virtual; while non-essential services like bars and nightclubs are to  remain closed with a nationwide night time curfew from midnight to 4 a.m. to be in force until further notice.

While affirming that there would be no limitation to intra-state movements, the PSC scribe said only essential international travels would be entertained by the government.

 

The PSC Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, in his comments, said the panel has been observing developments with the new wave of the pandemic hitting various countries across the world.

 

He said that the committee had aggregated and analysed the development with a view to preventing the importation of the variants into Nigeria.

 

“The surge and virulence of the variants of concern has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of persons in India and a number of countries and has unfortunately disrupted the production of and global delivery programmes for vaccines.

 

These developments clearly underscore the fact that indeed, no one can be safe until everyone is safe,” he stressed. He disclosed that the committee was aware of the breach of safety protocols put in place by the government by some returning foreign passengers.

 

Mustapha said those are currently under investigations and would be sanctioned accordingly.

 

He urged the state governments and traditional rulers to step up to play lead roles in the area of enforcement and sanctions as regards the reintroduced protocols in order to stop the spread of the anticipated COVID-19 third wave.

 

The SGF added that the government was exploring other options to get Nigerians vaccinated following the challenge of vaccine nationalism compounded by the production situation in India – the world’s largest producer of vaccines.

 

He disclosed that 1,690,719 persons have received their first dose of the vaccine in Nigeria, representing 84% of the targeted persons for the first phase.

 

Mustapha disclosed further that the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government had fixed the cost of COVID-19 testing, whether PCR or otherwise, at $50 at all Points of Entry with effect from May 17, 2021 in order to ease travel and trade among member countries

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