New variant scare forces FG to reintroduce curfew

The Federal Government has reintroduced curfew and other COVID-19 restrictions across the country following to prevent the spread of deadly strains of COVID-19 into the country.

This new directive was given on Monday by the Head of Technical Secretariat of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, Dr Mukhtar Mohammed.

There are concerns that the deadly strain of the virus found in India, South Africa, Turkey and Brazil will spread to Nigeria.

Other restrictions imposed are mass gatherings in public spaces for worship or wedding should not be more than people 50 people.

Mukhtar said curfew would start on Monday midnight and run from 12 midnight till 4am daily until further notice.

He said security agents had been saddled with the responsibility of enforcing all the non-pharmaceutical measures put in place by the government.

According to him, access to government institutions would also be denied to anyone not wearing a face mask while government meetings and travels have been limited to the virtual platform.

He said bars and nightclubs should remain closed but that there was no limitation to intra-state travel.

He added that only essential international travels would be encouraged, and all existing protocols must be strictly adhered to.

The PSC member said hotels can open but that must observed COVID-19 protocols.

He added that indoor recreational facilities and gyms were to close until June 11 when the situation would be reviewed while non-contact outdoor sports such as gulf, Polo and tennis were not affected.

Mukhtar said, “Further to these recommendations and effective from 0001hours of Tuesday, May 11, 2021, this Phase IV of the phased restriction of movement shall come into effect.

“We shall maintain restrictions of mass gatherings outside work settings with a maximum number of 50 people in an enclosed space.

“Approved gatherings must be held with physical distancing measures and other non-pharmaceutical interventions in place.”

On his part, 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.

He noted 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.

Mustapha, who is also the PSC Chairman, condemned the violation of the nation’s laws and hospitality, noting that the committee was awaiting the report of ongoing investigations and would impose appropriate sanctions on the violators.

He revealed 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 explained that the step became important in view of 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.

According to him, it is imperative to reinstitute the various public health measures that were put in place under the health protection regulations.

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