FG Relaxes Nationwide Lockdown, As Ban On Religious Gathering Lifted

The Presidential Task Force on COVID–19 has reduced the nationwide Lockdown. 

President Muhammadu Buhari May Ease Lockdown Today

President Buhari may authorize further easing of the lockdown imposed on the country to contain the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus pandemic.

India Eases Lockdown Reopen Worship Centers, Shopping Malls, Hotels

India announced on Saturday a major

Lockdown Won't Be Longer Than Necessary - FG Assures Nigerians

President Buhari has assured Nigerians that the current

Covid-19: Ogun State Extends Lockdown For 1 Week

The Ogun government says it will extend the current lockdown in the state by another one week.

                       Gov. Dapo Abiodun

Covid-19: Kwara Lockdown Violators To Be Prosecuted, likely to Implement Total Lockdown

Kwara State Police Command has warned market people for violating Coronavirus curfew guidelines in the state.

The Deputy Governor, Mr. Kayode Alabi, had specifically stated hours of market between 10am and 4pm, but residents and sellers didn’t adhere.

According to reports, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Abimnola Sokoya, stated this in a a letter addressed to Iyaloja and Babaloja in Kwara State, urging them to strictly adhere in compliance with directives. He noted that further violation will result in legal actions.

The statement reads: “It has been observed that traders in your market have been flouting the Kwara government directives on curtailment of the spread of Covid-19 by allowing market activities beyond 10am-4pm, and also operating without face masks as ordered by the government.

“You are hereby warned that any further violation of this order will attract legal consequences. I expect your strict compliance please.”

Reports shows that 8 new cases were also recorded in Kwara and as residents keep flaunting lockdown rules, government may reverse total lockdown according to speculation.

Lockdown: Reduce Data Prices For Nigerians - Ayodele Fayose

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Gov. Peter Ayodele Fayose has called on service providers to help Nigerians by reducing their Tariffs.

He wrote on his verified twitter account:

Nigerians have been at home since the beginning of this Covid-19 pandemic, even now that the lock down is relaxed, causing increase in Data usage. Govt will be kind enough to prevail on Network and Cable TV providers to reduce their tariffs to support Nigerians at this time

Lockdown: Kaduna Security Operatives Intercept 150 Travellers & Almajiri Children

Security operatives on Wednesday May 6, intercepted about 150 travellers including Almajiri children travelling in three vehicles along the Abuja-Kaduna road.

The Commissioner for Human Resources and Social Development in the state, Hafsat Baba disclosed that the travellers were trying to enter the state from the Federal Capital Territory, (Abuja) and Nyanya in Nasarawa State.

She told Channels TV that other almajiris were also intercepted in Soba and Giwa Local Government Areas of the state. Out of the 150 intercepted travellers, 90 are from Kano State, while the others are from Nasarawa and Birinin Gwari Local Government in Kaduna.

All the non-indigenous Almajiris and other travellers have been returned to their states, while those from Kaduna have been quarantined for a period of 14 days.

Nigeria May Commence Another Lockdown As No Adherence To Guidelines - NCDC

In Nigeria, as at Monday, 4th May. The lift of the lockdown commenced in most states in Nigeria with strict adherence to the guidelines laid by the State Governments.

Residents of Lagos, Ogun and Abuja were seen disobeying the social distancing guidelines put forward.

Moreover, There were different reports, pictures and videos of bank's long queues not observing the social distancing order.

Similarly, it was noted that many were not wearing nose masks as imposed by the State Government of the various States.

NCDC therefore disclosed that, if there is a spike up in the number of #COVID19 cases in the Country, The Federal Government might issue another lockdown.

Lockdown: Kwara State Police Intercept People Concealed With Fruits

On Sunday 3rd May, 2020, the Kwara state Police Command intercepted a truck loaded with fruits items covering more than 50 people in a bid to smuggled them into Ogbomoso in Oyo State. 

  

In order to curtail the spread of coronavirus, Kwara state inter and intra state entrance were on lockdown just as it's applied to other state of the federation

The Police Public Relations Officer, Okasanmi, stated that trailer hid the trafficked people which includes men, women and children beneath fruit items.

Okasanmi said that, “Acting on an actionable intelligence, policemen from kwara state police Command intercepted a Trailer loaded with supposed fruits but hidden beneath the friuts were women, men and young children totalling 50, being trafficked from Shinkafi in Zamfara state to Ogbomoso,"

“CP Kayode Egbetokun directed that they be escorted back to Kwara state border whivh was Niger from where they claimed they came through.”

Coronavirus: NCDC Fears Spread May Worsen As Lockdown Ends Today

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has expressed fears that the number of coronavirus cases in the country will continue to rise for the next few months. This hint came as the lockdown imposed on the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun states ends at 11:59pm today.

The Director General, NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, told Sunday PUNCH in an interview that the number of cases was likely to increase given the increasing capacity to find and test more cases.

There were 220 new cases on Saturday as the total rose to 2, 388. The number of discharged persons rose to 385 while the number of deaths increased to 85.

The new cases were 62 in Lagos; 52 in FCT; 31 in Kaduna; 13 in Sokoto; 10 in Kebbi; 9 in Yobe; 6 in Borno; 5 in each of Edo and Bauchi; 4 in each of Gombe, Enugu, Oyo; 3 in Zamfara and 2 in each of Nasarawa, Osun, Ebonyi, Kwara, Kano and Plateau states.

Earlier, as part of measures to contain the rising spread of the virus in the country, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on March 30 imposed a 14-day lockdown on the FCT, Lagos and Ogun states, followed by a two-week extension. He noted that the extension became necessary as the pandemic was no longer a joke and had become a matter of life and death.

At the expiration of the extension on April 27, the President, in a nationwide broadcast on Monday, again extended the lockdown by one week, which terminates today. The President, however, said a nationwide curfew between 8pm and 6am would follow as a further measure to contain the spread of the virus.

Many state governors also introduced similar restrictions in their states, even though some have begun easing the lockdown despite the rising number of cases across the country.

Asked about his projection on when Nigeria would likely reach its peak and how prepared the nation was for it, the NCDC DG said, “There are various projections that have been developed based on various contexts. With the increasing capacity to find and test more cases, we will continue to see an increase in cases in the next few months.

“Our strategy is to test quickly, detect confirmed cases, isolate and manage cases to recovery and follow up with contacts to reduce the risk of spread.

“In the absence of a vaccine for this disease, we must continue to adhere strictly to directives from the Federal Government on non-pharmaceutical interventions such as closure of large gatherings and physical distancing. By doing these, we have a better chance of reducing the risk of spread of this disease quickly.”

When reminded that despite setting up 15 COVID-19 testing laboratories, less than 20,000 tests had been carried out so far, Ihekweazu said people could access the situation report on the NCDC website. “On the 1st of May alone, we recorded over 2,000 cases and this will continue to increase,” he added.

He added that in preparing for the increase in cases, the NCDC was working closely with state governments to rapidly scale up the capacity in treatment centres, even as he had hinted previously that the virus would eventually spread to all the states.

Notably, there has been an astronomical increase in the number of cases in the past few days. Since February 27 when Nigeria recorded its first case, the nation didn’t hit the 1,000 mark until about two months after, April 24 specifically when the number of cases rose from 981 to 1,095. The number of deaths then was 32.

But, barely one week after hitting the 1,000 mark, the number of cases reached the 2,000 mark on May 1, when the cases rose by 238 to hit 2,170. The number of deaths also more than doubled as the casualty figure rose to 85 within the period.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, had recently warned that the state, which is the epicentre of the deadly virus, had yet to reach its COVID-19 peak. He had also warned on March 27 that the state might see up to 39,000 cases but that if everyone practised good social distancing, the figure would be limited to about 13,000.

Prior to the President’s latest broadcast on Monday, the Nigerian Medical Association warned that lifting or easing the lockdown was premature, given the “exponential” rise in the number of cases on a daily basis. It also warned that with the rate at which the virus was spreading, the consequence of lifting the lockdown could be tragic.

The World Health Organisation has also warned repeatedly that it would be hasty for countries to start lifting lockdowns. “No country is safe from potentially overwhelming outbreaks as long as the coronavirus is circulating,” it added.

Despite the warnings not to lift the lockdown, the Federal Government however said it had put in place measures to contain the transmission of the disease.

The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 announced on Wednesday during its media briefing that the use of face masks had become mandatory, noting that despite the directive that government offices and banks could resume operations from Monday, maintaining physical distancing and personal hygiene remained necessary.

“The restrictions on social and religious gatherings shall remain in place; state governments, corporate organisations and philanthropists are encouraged to support the production of cloth masks for citizens,” it added.

The National Coordinator of the task force, Dr Aliyu Sani, noted that to reduce the congestion, banks could only open between 8am and 2pm while civil servants on specific grade levels would be allowed to resume in their offices at specific times.

He stressed that all staff and bank customers must adhere to the personal hygiene and social distancing safety protocols, adding that all movements would be prohibited during the period except for essential services. He added that the ban on non-essential inter-state passenger travel remained until further notice.

But in a statement on Friday night, the NMA President, Dr Francis Faduyile, stressed that the timing for lifting the lockdown was premature because the nation was still battling with inadequate Personal Protective Equipment for health workers, lack of enough bed spaces in states for infected people and rising infections across the country, amongst others.

He added, “The easing of the lockdown even in phases is very premature. Nigeria should learn from her neighbour, Ghana, where the same action produced 100 per cent increase in infection rate in just a week.”

We won’t return to normalcy until 2021, says NCDC DG

Meanwhile, the NCDC DG has said the country, like the rest of the world, will not return to life as it was before the coronavirus pandemic until 2021.

Ihekweazu, who spoke on Saturday on The Platform, an annual event of Covenant Christian Centre, explained that though mass gatherings could be difficult to avoid, it would be for the best.

According to him, it is a sacrifice “we will have to make as a people to get over this.”

He highlighted that members of the public would have to rethink how they conducted businesses, social gatherings such as weddings and religious gatherings in the short term.

The NCDC boss said, “We are faced with a difficult reality and we are not unique in this. Every country is, right now, looking at the same challenge and how to get us back to some level of normalcy.

“But the reality is that we are going to live with COVID-19 for the next year, at the very least. So, we have to start thinking about how to live safely with COVID-19.

“Some of the changes we will need to make are actually good things to have forever. With the emphasis on hand washing, (use of) sanitisers and respiratory hygiene, my goal as the leader of the NCDC is that we continue doing this forever.”

He added that the habits would also prevent the spread of COVID-19, but also many other diseases.

“I hope we don’t go back, like we did post-Ebola, to an era of not washing our hands. Who would want that? So, we really want some of these measures to go on,” Ihekweazu said.

While fielding a question on the daily fight against COVID-19, the infectious diseases expert hinted that the worst had yet to come. “We really are at the beginning of this outbreak globally,” he said.

Ihekweazu added, “The point where we will assess how many people died in Nigeria versus everywhere else — it may be a year or two when we look back to the evolution of this outbreak. You can see that the outbreak comes in waves. We are not sure where we are on our own trajectory at the moment. It’s early days to reach conclusions around mortality.”

The NCDC DG noted that his team and many others across the country were working hard, adding that the state government and their care facilities were providing care for all those infected.

(SEE PHOTOS) Bianca Ojukwu Keeping Fit At Home During Lockdown

The Ex beauty queen and Nigera’s Former Ambassador to Spain who is the wife of late Biafra Leader Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu and mother of 3 grown kids expressed on her FB post how she is trying to stay fit during lockdown.

#stayathome means stay and eat, and amass a huge debt in Calories…And so, here is where you start paying..at the home gym, in Sweat!

 Not great fun, but sometimes you gotta do it!’

Covid-19: Ganduje Makes U-Turn, Wants Lockdown Obeyed

Kano State Governor, Umar Ganduje, has called for compliance with the lockdown in state two days after asking the Federal Government to ease the restriction.

The PUNCH reports that Buhari in a nationwide broadcast on Monday ordered a total lockdown in the state as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus disease.

But Ganduje asked the Federal Government to ease the 14-day total lockdown on Thursday, saying it would result in economic hardship in the state.

The governor’s appeal, however, led to an outrage on social media, with many commenters asking him to prioritise the health of residents.

On Friday, Kano recorded 92 new cases – the highest daily figure to be reported in any state in Nigeria within 24 hours.

After the new cases recorded on Friday, the governor in a series of tweets on Saturday said the lockdown was necessary to curb the spread of the virus.

He also urged residents to obey the lockdown order and maintain social distancing.

He tweeted, “We’re working fast to deal with the spread of #COVID19 in our great state with the conversion of some facilities in the state to isolation centres. The Abubakar Imam Urology Hospital, Murtala Muhammed Library Complex, Hospitality and Tourism Institute formerly Daula Hotel.

“Sports Institute at Karfi and the Nigerian Air Force Hospital will now house carriers of the pandemic going forward. The Murtala Muhammad Library Complex is expected to accommodate over 200 beds and also an estimated 300 beds will be provided at Karfi Sports Institute.

“I reiterate my plea for all Kano citizens to adhere to the lockdown rule. We need to slow down the virus and this is only possible with social distancing. Please stay in your homes.”

With the 92 new coronavirus cases recorded on Friday, confirmed infections in Kano have increased to 311.

Data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control’s website showed that Kano has recorded no recovery since Nigeria reported its first COVID-19 case on February 27.

The breakdown of the cases recorded by states showed that Kano has recorded the second-highest number of infections with 311 cases in Nigeria.

Lagos has the highest number of infections with 1,006 cases and Abuja third with 214 cases.

Cases in Lagos, Kano, and Abuja constitute over 70 per cent of the total cases recorded in Nigeria, The PUNCH reports.

A further breakdown of the data revealed that Kano is the COVID-19 worst-hit state in the northern part of Nigeria.

The NCDC said, “It tweeted, “On the 1st of May 2020, 238 new confirmed cases and ten deaths were recorded in Nigeria. No new state has reported a case in the last 24 hours".

Currently, 2,388 cases have been confirmed, 385 cases have been discharged and 85 deaths have been recorded in 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Dangote Group Converts Lockdown Break To Employees’ Annual Leave

IgbereTV reports that Dangote Group has informed its staff members that the lockdown break given by the government is now a part of the company annual leave.

A memo to that effect which was captured by IgbereTV reads, “This is to advice all staff that the lockdown period will be regarded as part of Leave Period and therefore annual leave consuming.”

“Where any staff has exhausted his/her leave period, a commensurate amount would be deducted to cover the period.”

The memo has generated mixed reactions since its release.

See memo below.

COVID-19: Kwara Announces Partial Relaxation of Lockdown As Facemasks Distribution Begins

Rafiu Ajakaye, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor/Spokesman, Kwara State Technical Committee on COVID-19 made it known on May 1, 2020 that Kwara begins phased reopening Monday as face mask distribution begins.

Kwara State Government has announced partial relaxation of the lockdown in the state to align with the national policy of gradual reopening of the economy, but warned that the measures do not mean the country is out of the danger.

The measures come as the state began distribution of thousands of face masks  all produced within the state in a bid to curtail transmission of the disease.  

• Insists we’re not out of danger yet

• Military to man borders as police lead internal ops

• State records three new COVID-19 cases

• Govt okays special allowances for health workers attending to COVID

• Don’t go out without face masks, govt tells residents 

• Civil servants to work from home

• Ban on Okada stays as cabs, others to operate on half capacity

Kayode Alabi, Deputy Governor and Chairman of the Kwara State Technical Committee on COVID-19, told a news briefing in Ilorin that markets and businesses would now open everyday but in 60 per cent capacity of their pre-COVID 19 operations while commercial transporters except motorcyclists would be permitted to work within the state at varied capacity.

Taxis would carry just three passengers per trip, tricyclists can only transport two persons at a time while commercial buses are to carry 50% of their capacity, Alabi said, threatening a crackdown on any violators. 

The Deputy Governor said schools, hotels, beer parlours and night clubs remain shut while restaurants are to serve takeaways only.

Sport gatherings, religious and non-religious gatherings, concerts and other social parties remain banned, he added.

“In line with the Federal Government’s guidelines to gradually open up the economy, His Excellency the Governor has directed the Kwara State Technical Committee to come up with modalities on how to gradually return to normalcy from Monday May 4, 2020, while ensuring we respect all safety protocols,” Alabi said.

“We want to make it abundantly clear that we are caught between two extremes as we are definitely not out of the wood. We are caught on the one hand by the need to protect people’s lives in compliance with our oath of office and on the other by the need to not totally cripple the economy.

“Dear Kwarans, we are not out of the wood. Just today, Kwara has recorded three more new cases of COVID-19. That takes us to 14 confirmed cases in Kwara. Of these, 12 are active as we had earlier discharged two. All our cases are stable and in the best spirits. We want to emphasise that one of the three new cases was imported while the remaining two are contacts of our earlier cases. Aggressive contact tracing has since begun. This incident of another imported case explains why we are now deploying military personnel to man our borders while police and other security agencies maintain their hold internally.

“We are proud to say that our strategy to prevent community dissemination is working so far. We thank all our frontline workers for this great feat. We urge them to keep the good work. In recognition of their hard work and sacrifice, His Excellency the Governor has approved special allowances for all the healthcare workers attending to our COVID-19 cases in Kwara State.

“In preparation for the gradual easing of lockdown, the government had earlier directed the production of 500,000 face masks which have started coming in in bits. At the moment, we have commenced mass distribution of over 40,000 face masks and sanitisers to markets, bus parks and transporters, hospitals, and elsewhere. We will continue to distribute as we receive more masks in the next few days or weeks. We call on private individuals and corporate organisations to also produce masks.

“Going forward, the committee wishes to announce the phased reopening of the economy as follows: 

Agriculture

• Farmers and related services are to operate under the current Kwara state guidelines earlier spelt out in previous communication 

• Strict adherence to NCDC social distancing guidelines (reduction of work force may be necessary to maintain social distancing)

• All workers must wear appropriate face masks

• INTRA-state AND INTER-state transportation of agricultural produces are allowed but DECONTAMINATION of the vehicles should be carried out after trips to States with high numbers of COVID-19 (Lagos, Abuja and Kano)

• Use of Trailers to transport humans is STRICTLY PROHIBITED

Public works

• All construction firms and workers in the state should resume work

• State Civil Servants should continue to work from home except for those on essential services or those granted special permissions.

Markets, Eateries and restaurants

• Local markets are to operate between 10.00a.m. and 4.00p.m. Other businesses may open at 60% capacity but must adhere to social distancing and other safety measures

• Everybody in the market should wear face masks

• All shops with clearly defined entrance should make provision for hand washing and adhere to social distancing guidelines

• deny entry into their shops to Buyers without face masks

• Marketers are directed to not attend to Buyers without face masks

• The market associations must control the number of people in the market at any particular time to avoid overcrowding.

• Strict sanitation protocols must be observed before entering the market

• Eateries and restaurants should only operate take away services.

Road Transport

• Interstate travels are prohibited as earlier directed by Mr. President. Violators will be sanctioned accordingly

• Intra-state travels are allowed with the following provisions:

• Taxis may operate everyday with maximum of 3 passengers with all Occupants wearing face masks

• Keke NAPEP may operate with maximum of 2 passengers and all Occupants must wear face masks

• All commercial transport vehicles except Okada may operate everyday but at 50% capacity to maintain social distancing. Violations will be resisted and punished. 

• Face masks and the use of sanitisers before embarkment by drivers and passengers are compulsory. All vehicles must also have sanitisers onboard during travel.

Sectors to remain closed:

• All schools are to remain closed until further evaluation

• Sport gatherings remain prohibited until further evaluation

• Religious and non-religious gatherings are disallowed until further evaluation. 

• Hospitality services (hotels, beer parlours and night clubs) are to remain closed until further evaluation

• Concerts and other social parties/gatherings remain banned until further notice.”

Kano State Governor, Ganduje, Asks Buhari To Relax Lockdown Over Ramadan

President Buhari had on Monday during a nationwide broadcast ordered a total lockdown on Kano following the rise of COVID-19 cases and the strange deaths in the state.

The Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to ease the 14-day total lockdown imposed on the state.

Buhari had on Monday during a nationwide broadcast ordered a total lockdown on Kano following the rise of COVID-19 cases and the strange deaths in the state.

Ganduje, while speaking on Thursday, while inaugurating a panel of experts to support the state task force technical committee, said it is important to relax the lockdown for a while in order to ease the hardship in the state, especially in the holy month of Ramadan. 

He said, “We would engage the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to seek permission to relax the total lockdown imposed on Kano.

We are making this appeal on behalf of our people who are presently running out of food items. We would love the Federal government to relax the lockdown for a period of time to enable people stock their homes, especially now that majority of us are fasting. It will also ease the economic hardship in the state.”

We Can't Relax The Lockdown - NCDC

Covid-19, The Federal Government, through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, has explained why the lockdown measure should not be relaxed amid efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

President Buhari  on March 29 ordered a lockdown of the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun states for 14 days to curb COVID-19 spread. Many states had also followed suit.

But as the number of COVID-19 cases increased, the President on April 13 extended the lockdown for 14 more days.

As of the time of filing this report, the coronavirus had spread to 26 states and the FCT, with 1,095 cases recorded across the country by the NCDC. While 208 patients had been discharged, 32 had died.

The new cases were 80 in Lagos, 21 in Gombe, five in FCT, two each in Zamfara and Edo, and one each in Ogun, Oyo, Kaduna and Sokoto states.

Speaking on Friday at a media briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, the Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, said it was not yet time to relax the lockdown.

He noted that although the lockdown was having negative effects on the economy as it was impeding Nigerians’ ability to go about their daily activities, he said it was vital to be patient and endure the lockdown further to ensure a safe and healthy society when the economy would be reopened.

He said, “We will eventually exit this stage and restart our normal life but that stage is still a while to come and I ask for your endurance, support and patience. Lots of efforts are going on across the world to find new therapy, to find vaccine.

“Everybody is pushing hard along this direction. We need unprecedented level of caution to continue carrying out the preventive measure that we have advised many times on this platform.

“Many families have not been able to bury their dead, rescheduled their marriages and baptism and everything they are doing. In a way, life is in suspense. Everyone recognises the sacrifice Nigerians have made but we really have to encourage one another to continue to a position where we can relax some of that (lockdown) but until we get to that place, we have to continue in the short term.

“We are working hard to reach a point where we can relax some of these measures but we are not there yet. We ask you to join us to continue this journey with us and amplify these messages that we are giving. We are happy to have the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress here with us today (Friday).

End Date for Russia's Lockdown Unknown, Government says

Medical workers wearing protective equipment wait in front of the gateway to enter the red zone to treat coronavirus patients in Moscow on April 22. Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images

Russia's government has not set a date for ending its nationwide lockdown, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday, as concerns grow about the impact of coronavirus on the country’s economy.

Responding to a question from reporters about the point at which the economic impact of the lockdown might be too great, Peskov said this:

“No, there is no such date. There is a specific time period tied to a specific epidemiological situation.”

COVID-19: Nigerian Governors Adopt 14 Days Inter-State Lockdown

The governors of all 36 states of federation have unanimously resolved to adopt a two-week inter-state lockdown as part of measures aimed at containing the spread of coronavirus across the country.

The governors made the resolution at their sixth teleconference chaired by Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, during which the governors harped on the need to decentralise the COVID-19 response.

"We, members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), at our meeting held today deliberated on the COVID-19 pandemic in the country and resolved as follows:

“The forum held a minute’s silence in honour of all Nigerians who have lost their lives from coronavirus, especially health workers who were in the front lines of the pandemic.

“Members also conveyed their condolence to President Muhammadu Buhari and the people of Borno State on the passing of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Abba Kyari, who passed away on 17th April 2020 in the line of duty to the country.

“The NGF Chairman briefed the forum on the rapidly evolving situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and coordination efforts with the Federal Government, multilateral and bilateral partners and the private sector through the Coalition against COVID-19 (CACOVID).

“With over 25 states now affected by the spread of the virus and increasing evidence of community transmission, state governors called for the decentralisation of the COVID-19 response as the best chance of nipping in the bud the spread of the virus in communities.

“Following an update from the NGF Secretariat on the number of COVID-19 cases in the country, members expressed concern over the rising spread of the virus among health workers and resolved to work with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to ensure that health workers are adequately provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) and are constantly trained on the use of protective gears.

“In order to strengthen coordinated implementation of necessary public health recommendations across states, governors resolved to set up COVID-19 committees at the regional level, headed by their state Commissioners of Health.

“Regional committees will continue to interface with the State Task Force Committees on COVID-19 already established in each state.

“The forum also received briefing from the governors of Lagos, Bauchi, Oyo and Ogun states who shared their experiences and lessons from the fight against COVID-19.

“Governors unanimously agreed to the implementation of an inter-state lockdown in the country over the next two weeks to mitigate the spread of the virus from state to state. Only essential services will be permitted.

“Lastly, the forum congratulated the Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, who after nearly four weeks of testing positive and observing very strict medical regime, has now received two consecutive negative test results for the coronavirus,” the communiqué read.

UPDATE: Inflation Rate Increases by 12.26% in March

The National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday said the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation rose by 12.26 per cent year-on-year in March.

The bureau in the CPI report said the 12.26 per cent inflation for March is 0.06 percentage points higher than the 12.2 per cent recorded in February.

The report said the lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states which started in April and various major disruptions in normal economic activity in several States would not have any major impact on March inflation which the report focuses on.

On a month-on-month basis, the NBS said the index increased by 0.84 per cent in March, adding that this is 0.05 per cent higher than the 0.79 per cent recorded in February.