COVID-19: Schools remain closed as Nigerian government issues new guidelines

Schools in Nigeria remain closed as the Federal Government issues a new set of guidelines in a new phase of easing of lockdown in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.

Speaking at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the National Coordinator of the task force, Sani Aliyu, said the curfew earlier imposed in the states and the FCT, had further been relaxed to between 10pm and 4am. President Muhammadu Buhari had on May 4, eased the lockdown, imposing a curfew from 8pm to 6am, use of face masks and social distancing, among others.

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With the latest guideline, the financial sector is now fully opened with banks now allowed to operate with more working hours five days a week. Also, the task force said that there would be controlled access to markets and locations of places of economic activities but explained that local authorities will continue to provide guidance on opening times.

Aliyu said restrictive opening of places of worship would be based on state governments’ protocols and strict guidelines on physical distancing and other non-pharmaceutical interventions, adding that this would apply to the regular church and mosque services only.

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So far, Nigeria has recorded 10,162 cases of COVID-19. While 3,007 have recovered from the disease, 287 people have died. He said there would be no further evacuation of Nigerians until a new policy currently developed with the private sector comes into place. He however said the mass gathering of more than 20 people outside of a work place or places of worship remained prohibited.

The guideline further stated that mandatory supervised isolation of person or persons arriving the country will continue to be for 14 days until a new policy comes into play.