Avoid Worship Centres, Govt Tells Lagos Residents Above 65 Years

Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi speaks on measures taking by the state government to contain COVID-19 in the state on June 5, 2020.

Lagos State Government has advised residents of the state above 65 years to avoid visiting worship centres in order to curb COVID-19 in the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi gave the advice during a press conference in Alausa, Ikeja, the state capital.

The Commissioner who noted that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu ordered the reopening of religious centres in the next two weeks as the state entered the second phase of the ease of lockdown, in line with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and NCDC protocols on ease of lockdown.

Abayomi reiterated the commitment of the state government to manage the public health of residents, noting that the government is deeply worried by the aged group considered as vulnerable.

“If you are over the age of 65, you should not go to these houses of worship. In fact, you should continue to exercise due diligence as to where you go and to what kind of environments you go to.

“For now, we are advising that over the age of 65, avoid these engagements. For those that do go to this engagement and go back home, what happens? Those that do go to the houses of spiritual worship, while you are there, we have cut down the number of people that can be in a room.

“And while you are in that room, you must practice what we are standardizing as social distancing so that it reduces your chance of contracting the virus and taking the virus home to where you may have somebody in the house above the age of 65,” he said.

The Commissioner’s remarks come a day after Governor Sanwo-Olu reviewed some of the protocols being used to curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state.

Governor Sanwo-Olu announced that the government would be relaxing the measures in the coming days, insisting that worshippers at such centres must not exceed 500 during a session.

He, however, noted that the government has allowed authorities to conduct more than one service but must maintain proper hygiene of the environment.