The Federal Government of Nigeria has ruled out any possibility of another lockdown despite the second wave of COVID-19 currently facing the country.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed made this clarification on Tuesday while delivering remarks at a Radio Nigeria Programme, “Politics Nationwide” in which he was featured.
According to the minister, decisions to instigate another lockdown can only be taken based on advice from the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, but such red flag has not been raised at the moment.
The Minister, while attending to questions from callers during the programme, assured Nigerians that the government is not considering the option of another National lockdown as it would have a serious consequence on the economy.
He said, ““The Federal Government has not declared a fresh lockdown.
“What we have done is that we have simply reiterated the old protocols and asked federal workers on Level 12 and below to stay at home and they will still receive their salaries.
“Lagos state has equally asked their level 14 workers and below to work from home and Kaduna state has done the same.
“Therefore, there is no fresh lockdown and the issue of hardship and economy meltdown does not arise,’’ he said.
Mohammed reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring the spread of the virus is curtailed in the country and reminded Nigerians on the need to obey government’s directives banning social gathering in Churches and Mosques above-set limits as the second wave of the pandemic has reached a level of community transmission.
Also, the Minister stated that the protocols on foreign travels subsist at the moment, therefore, those travelling to Nigeria are obliged to present a document certifying that they tested negative for the virus, failure of which they would not be allowed in. He said further that those who can present a negative result would still be compelled to self-isolate for seven days after which another confirmation test must be conducted on them.