GOVERNOR of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has approved the reopening of worship centres in the state with effect from August 7, 2020.
At a briefing on Saturday, the governor said the reopening will strictly conform to precautionary measures outlined by the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 in conjunction with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) including fifty percentage capacity.
Sanwo-Olu also appealed to religious leaders to consider holding services in open spaces and well-ventilated areas “as circumstances of faith and tradition permit”.
NCDC data as of Friday night, shows that Lagos has recorded over 15,000 Covid-19 infections and about 200 related fatalities, making it the state with highest records in the country.
Excerpt of the press briefing;
“Places of worship in Lagos will now be opened from Friday, the 7th of August for our Muslim worshipers, and on Sunday, the 9th of August for our Christian worshipers.
“We will only allow 50 per cent of their maximum capacities, either at the church or at the mosque. Churches who have a Saturday worship day will also be allowed to hold worship.
“We must reiterate that places of worship have their regular once a week service at designated days. For the avoidance of doubt, there will be Friday worships for our Muslim followers and Sunday worships for our Christian followers.
“We will monitor this for the next couple of weeks and see how compliance gets as we move along. They are encouraged to have multiple services on those days but they should restrict it to those designated days of worship.
“In addition, the following conditions must also be fully met by all our religious centres; regular gatherings are permitted to hold but vigils and other services should still be on hold for now.
“We recommend and seriously appeal to our senior citizens – if you are aged 65 and above, you are still strongly advised not to attend these places of worship. Please stay back at home.
“We should still ensure that no face masks policy are maintained throughout the duration of the services. They should ensure that regular cleaning and disinfection of the facilities are carried out to maintain a clean and hygiene environment before, during and after the services.
“It is mandatory to provide handwashing facilities and hand sanitisers at the various worship places. Handshakes, hugs, high-fives are not permitted during gatherings and should be emphasised and displayed at the various places of worship,” he stated.