Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Friday said Lagos may slip into a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic if residents fail to comply with safety measures against the spread of virus.
Sanwo-Olu released a statement following a virtual meeting that he attended from isolation and said orders restricting practices during services in churches and mosques would be reinstated.
While limiting services to a maximum of two hours, he said that the occupancy should not be more than 50% of the capacity of the building.
In the statement titled ‘We Cannot Afford to Relax the Battle against Covid-19,′ he said:
“Concerts, carnivals and street parties are banned in Lagos State until further notice.
“Nightclubs have not been allowed to open yet. All Nightclubs in Lagos must immediately shut down, until further notice.
“The midnight to 4a.m curfew imposed by the Federal Government remains in place.
“The protocol of ‘No Mask No Entry’ must be enforced by all public places: offices, businesses, markets, shops, and so on.”
He also said that, “All guests and service providers at events MUST wear nose masks/coverings before entry.”
According to Sanwo-Olu, the state government noticed that the public has relaxed in following guidelines meant to limit transmission of the coronavirus.
“The Lagos State Government has sadly noticed that there is an unfortunate public perception that we have seen the end of the Covid-19 pandemic; that the worst is over. This is absolutely wrong and dangerous.
“We are getting credible reports that the entertainment industry is planning large gatherings, concerts, street parties and carnivals, in the spirit of the Yuletide. Nightclubs have also re-opened in reckless disregard of the existing guidelines, and events centres are operating with huge gatherings without any regard for public health and safety guidelines.”
The governor urged the citizenry to sacrifice in the spirit of Christmas.
“Christmas is a commemoration of this supreme act of sacrifice by God. The least we can do in this season is to emulate that spirit of sacrifice, by abiding with difficult but necessary protective guidelines, for the greater good of all of us.”
The governor disclosed that of every 100 tests that the state has performed, an average of 10 turn out to be positive, stating it is an increase from the five per hundred recorded in September, though lower than the peak in August, which was between 20 and 30 per hundred.
“This suggests the existence of active community transmission, and represents the very likely possibility of the emergence of a second wave in Lagos State.
“This second wave calls for a full re-awakening of caution and precaution. The complacency that crept in over the last few months as a result of our early interventions when cases started to decline from our peak in August, must now give way to an abundance of vigilance.”
As a measure against a possible second wave of Covid-19, Sanwo-Olu asked all public servants from GL 14 and below, except emergency workers and first responders, to work from home as from Monday, December 21st for the next 14 days – in the first instance.
He also said all schools must shut down with immediate effect, and until further notice.
Sanwo-Olu implored residents to take responsibility for the welfare and safety of all while they enjoy the festive season with friends and families. “It is important that as a community we strictly abide by the above regulations in the context of a global pandemic, without prejudicing our efforts to keep the economy running and maintain our means of livelihood to a sufficient extent.
“Let us use this festive season to spend quality time in small but controlled gatherings with family and friends in the spirit of the season. This virus does not discriminate. We must take responsibility, and not treat this pandemic with levity.