COVID-19 spike: Fayemi bans Public gatherings, imposes curfew

The Ekiti State Government has imposed a fresh curfew from 8.00 pm to 6.00 am in the state until further notice.

The govt has also banned public gatherings of more than twenty people with immediate effect.

The Commissioner for Information and Values Orientation, Mr Akinbowale Omole announced these new guidelines in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, citing the alarming rate at which the second wave of COVID-19 was spreading in Nigeria.

He said there was the need for the government to be proactive and take decisive steps to secure the citizens from falling prey to the second wave of the pandemic.

He urged the people to continue to observe the Covid-19 protocols and also abide by the curfew and new restrictions placed on public gatherings by the State Government.

Omole added that the curfew placed throughout the State from 8.00 pm to 6.00 am will be strictly enforced except people from essential services.

He expatiated that, to allow faithfuls observe their religious worships, the government allows for two services to take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday accordingly and that all these services should not extend beyond 2.00pm on such days.

He re-emphasized that all worship centers are expected to provide necessary facilities for hand washing, soap and hand sanitizer at the entrance and infra-red thermometers to take worshippers temperature before any service.

He added that the State Covid-19 Response Committee put in place by Ekiti State Government and other relevant enforcement agencies would be going round to ensure compliance with these directives and any person or group of persons caught violating the guidelines put in place to curtail the pandemic in the state would be prosecuted and sanctioned accordingly.

The Information Commissioner called on all top government functionaries both at the State and Local Government levels, Local Government Chairmen, Kabiyesis and law enforcement agencies not only to obey Covid prevention protocols themselves, but also to monitor compliance and report any violation to the Covid-19 Response Taskforce promptly.