COVID-19 second wave: Ekiti govt shuts schools, imposes restrictions on churches, mosques

The Ekiti State government on Wednesday imposed fresh restrictions on worship centres and other public facilities over the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.

The state governor, Kayode Fayemi, who gave the directive in a statewide broadcast, restricted churches and mosques to one worship service on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

He directed the worship centres to operate at half capacity.

The governor also ordered the closure of all schools in the state till January 18 and asked civil servants on Grade Level 12 and below to work from home over the COVID-19 pandemic.

He suspended vigil services, clubbing and partying indefinitely.

The measures, according to Fayemi, were to ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic does not snowball out of control.

He said: “In addition, protocols regarding wedding and burial ceremonies remain in force. There should be no crowd in the church auditorium and burial services must be at the graveside only.

“Supermarkets, event centres, hotels and bar owners are to strictly ensure that social distancing measures are put in place and followed accordingly.

“Only half of the full sitting capacity of a facility can be allowed to participate in any ceremony/programme at any point and activities should not exceed 8:00 p.m. Partying, clubbing and vigils are suspended indefinitely until further notice.

“To ensure that things do not snowball out of control, we have given strict instructions to the taskforce and law enforcement agents to begin aggressive compliance enforcement activities in public places, including worship centres, event centres, markets, supermarkets, bars and hotels.

“Government will not hesitate to close down any facility indefinitely, and to prosecute operators of any public places, flouting the COVID-19 protocols.”