Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna state on Tuesday announced the reopening of businesses, Friday and Sunday worship in mosques and churches respectively, but stated that markets and schools remain under lock and key.
The new measures are coming after 75 days of partial lockdown, following the invocation of the Quarantine Act and the Kaduna State Public Health Law on March 26, must follow guidelines laid down by the state government. All the places of business and worship must provide thermometers, hand washing facilities and hand sanitisers, while observing the compulsory use of face masks and social distancing by all.
Speaking in a state broadcast on Tuesday, El Rufai, who paid tribute to the people of Kaduna state, for their immense sacrifices in the last two and half months to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the state, said the reopening of major markets and schools would depend on how the latest guidelines were followed, while warning that any spike in the cases of Covid-19 could see the laws reverted.
According to the governor, “schools and markets will remain closed because at this stage of Covid-19 containment, it is still considered unsafe for markets and schools to reopen. Government will keep engaging with the relevant stakeholders on the matter, to determine the appropriate timing and conditions precedent.
“Businesses can reopen, subject to the provision of thermometers for temperature checks, sanitizers or hand washing equipment and physical distancing measures within all facilities. Working hours will be 9am to 3pm daily. Church services are allowed only on Sundays and Mosques are allowed to conduct only Friday Juma’at services, for the time being, subject to compliance with the safety stipulations above.
“Transport operators must reduce capacity to not more than two passengers per row and not more than 50% of capacity. The ban on intra-state travel has been lifted but government officials will continue to control state boundaries to reduce unauthorised interstate travel. Supermarkets and providers of personal services such as hairdressing and barbing salons can reopen; hotels can fully open, but with their restaurants and bars offering only room service.
‘”Within the state, security checkpoints will be allowed only to enforce compliance with the night time curfew. During the day, any violations of the adjusted Quarantine Order like failure to wear facemasks etc. will be enforced by Operation Yaki, KASTLEA, the Vigilance Service and our Mobile Courts,’’ he said.
The governor warned that restaurants may all reopen after decontamination, but are still restricted to takeaway services, adding that ‘’public servants will be summoned back to work in phases to be announced by the Head of Service. The next step of staying safe while pursuing socio-economic activities is strictly in the hands of each individual.’’
‘’While we require individual citizens to practice personal responsibility, the places where they work, worship or shop and the vehicles in which they travel must also protect their health and safety. This requires that all sectors of society understand and discharge their responsibility for safe reopening, including the specific steps they are required to take.’’
According to el-Rufai, government officials embarked on a series of sensitisation and consultations with stakeholders in the last two weeks as part of conditions for reopening the various sectors, in order to promote this wide understanding.
The governor said, “Government officials submitted the draft guidelines for debate at those meetings and we have considered the contributions, suggestions and feedback received from the stakeholders in concluding the detailed re-opening protocols being published for each sector. Any facility or sector that generally violates the guidelines will be closed down under the Quarantine Order No.2 of June 2020 that I will sign today for immediate gazetting.
“This relaxation will be reversed in the event of a spike in Covid-19 infections or unsatisfactory compliance levels with the conditions, and total quarantine re-imposed to preserve health and protect lives.’’
El-Rufai appealed to people who are 50 years and above to restrict their movement, in spite of the fact that restriction of movement has been lifted in the Kaduna state.
“We advise older people to stay home as much as possible, and avoid condolence visits and attending congregational prayers. Older people above 50 years should avoid receiving visitors’’
“If you must receive, please wear a facemask and stay two meters apart from your visitors. Younger people that may be infected but showing no signs of the disease can easily infect older people,’’ he counselled.
Speaking on the repatriation of almajirai, el-Rufai said his administration will continue to implement the policy of repatriation of almajiri back to their parents to afford them due care and the right to free education. “This is an important step in complying with our state’s Child Welfare and Protection Law. We do not regard modern education and Quranic education as mutually exclusive. A child can get both without being abandoned by their parents, leading to child abuse, mistreatment and an uncertain future.”
‘’Let us honour the sacrifices that have been made to ensure that this opening up supports the pursuit of livelihoods without risking widespread infection, illnesses and death. You have done it for more than 10 weeks under partial lockdown. Let us show that we can stay safe in relaxed conditions,” he added.
