Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has on Friday announced the new conditions for opening of the religion centres, extension of the weekend lockdowns in the state as part of measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
Abiodun, who made the announcement, while briefing newsmen at his Oke Mosan office on the activities of the state government to curb the further spread of COVID-19 pandemic, said this is the first formal briefing on COVID-19 situation in the State since the commencement of the second phase with further relaxation of the restrictions in the guidelines to combat the pandemic in our State.
The Governor noted that the approach of increased testing capacity and faster turn-around of results is yielding the desired maintained that it’s a continuation of the gradual removal of days of restriction and extension of relaxation daily windows to Ogun residents.
His words “In my last briefing, I indicated that we would engage the religious leaders to work out modalities for gradual lifting of restrictions on religious activities, the engagement process has commenced.
“Indeed, we have invited and received written submissions from both the Christian Association of Nigeria and the League of Imams and Alfas on their suggestions on how the restrictions on places of worship can be relaxed.
“Subsequent to the submissions, the representatives of the two religious bodies also jointly held meetings with high-level representatives of government to discuss the submissions, this is in line with our inclusive approach to governance.
“After a robust deliberation by the joint meeting of religious leaders and government representatives and taking into cognizance the baseline guidelines issued by the Presidential Task Force, the following major conclusions were arrived at:
“A sub-committee, inclusive of the religious leaders, will review the submissions, the discussions as well as expert opinions of medical scientists to harmonise all the views to arrive at a composite framework for final adoption of the committee in the next few days, on or before Friday, 12th June, 2020”, he stated.
Adding that any place of worship that violates the guidelines will be closed.
“The guidelines will be reviewed at regular intervals, based on developments, including expert opinions and data from the field, in the meantime, Government will continue the engagement, as well as intensify enlightenment and education of the public on the various guidelines to combat the pandemic in the State.
“All 5 working days in the week (Monday to Friday) are still opened for businesses and other economic transactions with only Saturday and Sunday as lockdown days;
“All industries in Ogun State must continue to comply with the “Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines for Workplaces in Ogun State to Combat COVID-19” as issued by the Ministry of Health in conjunction with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investments. Therefore, testing of staff for COVID-19 in all industries in the State must be sustained.
“We have continued to be encouraged about our approach, that is deliberate, methodical and well-thought out, not only are the outcomes commendable, we have continued to receive commendations” the Governor said.
