BY LEVI JOHNSON
In its quest to quel the new strain of COVID-19 ralvaging many Asian countries, the Nigerian government has impost restrictions across the country begining from midnight of Tuesday.
Dr Mukhtar Mohammed, Head of Technical Secretariat, Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19,declared this on Monday in Abuja.
The restrictions, he noted would cover the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
Mohammed, explained that with the restrictions imposed, mass gatherings in public spaces have been restricted to 50 people at any given time.
He added that access to government institutions would be denied to anyone not wearing a face mask while government meetings and travels have been limited to the virtual platform.
Mohammed saidL ”The government has directed that bars and nightclubs should remain closed and the nationwide curfew will be in force until further notice.
”Only essential international travels would be encouraged, and all existing protocols must be strictly adhered to.”
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He, however, pointed out that the restriction would not affect intra-state travel.
Speaking in the same vein, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, said returning foreign passengers who fled the quarantine facilities and violated the compulsory requirement would not go unpunished.
According to him, 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.
Mustapha, who condemned the violation of the nation’s laws and hospitality, stressed that the committee was awaiting the report of ongoing investigations and would impose appropriate sanctions on the violators.
He said 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.
