The Kaduna state government has imposed a
curfew across the state to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Hadiza Balarabe,
deputy governor of the state, announced this on Thursday.
She said the
decision is in line with the 1999 constitution, the quarantine act of 1926 and
the Kaduna state public health law.
Balarabe said the
development was needed as a review by the state standing committee on Covid-19
prevention, adding that some residents of the state have ignored measures put
in place by the government.
She said violators
of the curfew will be arrested, adding that security agencies have been
directed to enforce the restriction.
The deputy governor
said only medical personnel, security operatives, and fire service workers are
exempted from the curfew.
“The committee also
considered reports of unsatisfactory compliance levels with the preventive
measures that have been outlined by the government in repeated announcements,
and with increasing severity, over the past seven days,” she said.
“There were also
reports of certain persons not obeying the ban announced on motorcycle taxis
and ‘Keke-Napep’ tricycles.
“From midnight of
Thursday, 26th March 2020, all residents of Kaduna State must stay at home. No
offices, businesses of any sort or places of worship are allowed to open.
“The only category
of persons exempted are workers in essential services such as health workers,
the fire service and security personnel.
“Churches and mosques
will be shut, there will no congregational prayers or services either within
these places of worship or outdoors.
“Wedding events and
all social gatherings are strictly prohibited while these emergency measures
remain in place,’’ the Deputy Governor further warned.
“Any place of
worship, event centre or place that hosts social gatherings will be in
violation of its term of grant and therefore risks forfeiting its title and
having the site of the offense removed.
“We recognise that
Kaduna State is a transport hub. Therefore, transit through Kaduna will be
allowed, provided that such vehicles ply only the Western bye-pass.”
The deputy governor
said the government will distribute food to vulnerable persons during the
lockdown.
She said preventing
the spread of the disease in the state is better than managing it after it
enters.
“As indicated in
previous statements, the government is procuring food and other supplies,
funded from its contingency budget, to mitigate the challenges of a lockdown
for such persons,” she said.
“These items will be
distributed in community clusters across urban local government areas in the
state. This will be a grassroots exercise, as it is people drawn from the the
target community that will constitute the committee to manage the
distribution.”
Nigeria has recorded
51 coronavirus cases spread across eight states and the federal capital
territory (FCT).
While Lagos has 32,
the highest number, FCT follows with 10 and Ogun, three. Ekiti, Oyo, Edo,
Bauchi, Osun, and Rivers have one case each.
Two persons have
recovered from the disease while one has died.
Meanwhile, the Lagos
State government had announced that six patients being treated for coronavirus
have recovered and will soon be discharged.
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