Lagos State has debunked report that it has locked down the state in a bid to avert spread of deadly coronavirus disease in the state.
The state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy Mr. Gbenga Omotoso who made the clarification, said the trending report is a misrepresentation of the state government’s directives.
He said, “The attention of the Lagos State Government has been drawn to news reports that Lagos is on lockdown following Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s update on the steps taken to curtail the spread of Coronavirus.
“The impression created by such reports is erroneous; Lagos is not on lockdown despite the stringent measures introduced by the government.
“Mr. Governor, who is the Incident Commander, only urged private sector establishments to introduce measures that will support the government’s efforts at curtailing the spread of COVID-19.”
The commissioner further explained that, “Governor Sanwo-Olu suggested that banks should enhance their online banking services to enable their customers have transactions without visiting banking halls.
“All markets that are not selling food, pharmaceutical products, water, medical equipment and other essential materials are to close down.
“Workers providing essential services – Fire Service, Emergency, health, water, telecommunication, security, media and others – are exempted from this directive.”
According to him, the initiatives being introduced by the government are to prevent any situation where more than 25 persons will gather in the same place at any time.
He added that the Sanwo-Olu administration is concerned about the rising number of COVID-19 cases, hence it is adopting measures to keep residents safe.
“The government will continue to appraise the situation, consult various stakeholders and make further announcements to check the spread of this lethal disease,’’ he said.
_____
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2020 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.
