19th September, 2020
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Saturday ordered full re-opening of churches and mosques for all services.
The services include all weekly and weekend programmes.
Before now, churches were only allowed to open for services only on Sundays while mosques on Fridays.
But the governor said on Saturday that churches and mosques should resume their full services.
“As regards our places of worship, we are now also permitting the mosques to resume their five times a day prayers; and in the case of churches, they are now also permitted to resume their mid-week services.
“We must not forget that the Coronavirus pandemic is still very much with us, and we must therefore strive to prioritize the safety of all our children, teachers, parents, and the entire society.
“All of these resumption guidelines and protocols must be strictly adhered to by the various stakeholders,” Sanwo-Olu said.
He added that henceforth, cinemas and gyms were permitted to reopen as soon as possible, with a maximum of thirty-three percent (33%) occupancy, which meant that there must be a minimum of two empty seats between occupied seats; and that in the case of gyms, there must be constant disinfection of machines and equipment throughout the course of the day.
According to the governor, “next month, October, we will announce the decisions regarding the reopening of other sectors of the economy: night-clubs, bars, event centers, spas, public parks and so on. For now, these will continue to remain closed, until fixed plans for reopening are announced in October 2020.”
The governor said Lagos State Government, like the Federal Government, was committed to continuing the maintenance of a fine balance between the safety of lives and the sustenance of livelihoods.
“We will continue to make adjustments as required, but the gradual resumption of social, educational and economic activity must never be taken as an excuse to let down our guard against the pandemic,” he said.
According to him, “Many of you will be aware of the situation in parts of the world, which are seeing a resurgence of infections, and rising possibilities of the kind of hard lockdowns we experienced a few months ago. Let me make it clear that if we do not continue to maintain our guard, and sustain the adherence to all required protocols and guidelines, we will find ourselves in a situation where fresh lockdowns are inevitable.
“The only way to avoid this is to continue to act responsibly: maintain the required levels of hygiene, through regular handwashing and use of sanitizers, wear masks in all public places, avoid non-essential public gatherings, and maintain the prescribed levels of physical distancing at all times.
“As a government, it is our responsibility to keep you informed and updated on all steps being taken to contain the pandemic. We will also continue to ask for your understanding and cooperation in these challenging times, as we provide updates and make adjustments to our guidelines and protocols. This period requires heightened levels of patience, sacrifice and understanding from all of us.”