…Place Lagos 6 Other States On Red Alert
Moses Ofodeme
The Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 has placed six states on red alert as the country confirms presence of Delta variant of COVID-19.
The alert is to ensure a safe and healthy nationwide Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
The PSC, also recommended decentralization of Eid Prayer to neighbourhood Friday Prayer Mosques (outdoor); suspension of Durbar activities and observation of limitations on all Indoor gatherings during the celebration.
The PSC Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, said this in a statement at the weekend in Abuja.
The affected states as Lagos, Oyo, Rivers, Kaduna, Kano and Plateau as well as the FCT.
Mustapha said that the red alert was part of the preventive measures against a third wave of the pandemic in the country and that all states of the federation should heighten their state of preparedness and continue to enforce all protocols put in place, given the renewed greater ease of spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant.
“These steps are critical as we begin to see worrisome early signs of increasing cases in Nigeria.
“The PSC shall continue to minimise the risk of importation of variants of concern into the country by strengthening Surveillance at all Points of Entry (POE), enforcing extant quarantine protocols, and sustaining the current restrictive measures against travelers arriving from India, Brazil, Turkey, and South Africa.
“The PSC felicitates with the Muslim Ummah on the occasion of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration. It however, urges all State Governments and Religious Leaders to be mindful of the potential for wider spread of the virus during large gatherings,” he said.