Bars To Be Shut Down, Recreational Centres, Limited Public Gatherings As FG Reintroduces COVID-19 Restrictions
Federal Government reintroduces COVID-19 restrictions across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This directive is to be effected by 12:00am on Tuesday, a member of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, Dr Mukhtar Mohammed, annouced.
The Head of Technical Secretariat of the PSC, Mohammed made the announcement while briefing reporters on Monday in Abuja.
With the restrictions imposed, mass gatherings in public spaces have been restricted to 50 people at any given time.
There will be denial of access to government facilities to anyone not wearing a face mask while government meetings and travels have been limited to the virtual platform.
Mohammed said that the government has directed that bars and nightclubs should remain closed and the nationwide curfew will be in force until further notice.
He added that only essential international travels would be encouraged, and all existing protocols must be strictly adhered to.
However, the PSC member, noted that there was no limitation to intra-state travel.
Mr Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), said returning foreign passengers who fled the quarantine facilities and violated the compulsory requirement would not escape punishments.
Mustapha stated that the committee has received reports that some persons who recently returned to the country violated the mandatory quarantine requirement under the advisory by escaping from the facilities.
The PSC Chairman, Mustapha, condemned the violation of the nation’s laws and hospitality, noting that the committee was waiting for the report of ongoing investigations and would impose appropriate sanctions on the violators.
He states that the PSC has considered several pre-emptive measures to be taken to mitigate the likely impact of the variants of COVID-19, should they get imported into Nigeria.
The SGF stressed that the step became important considering the fragile state of the nation’s health systems, the disruption to the delivery of vaccines, and the lack of compliance with the extant public health measures and social measures contained in the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Health Protection Regulations 2021.
Mustapha stated that it is important to reinstitute the various public health measures that were put in place under the health protection regulations.
