Ban on religious and social gatherings continues until further notice – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and the FCT will be relaxed from May 4 but the ban on religious and social gatherings will continue until further notice.

The president in his address on Monday said the decision to relax was “in line with the recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the various Federal Government committees that have reviewed socio-economic matters and the Nigeria Governors Forum.”

The lockdown, he said would be relaxed gradually and in phases from May 4.

“However, this will be followed strictly with aggressive reinforcement of testing and contact tracing measures while allowing the restoration of some economic and business activities in certain sectors,” he added.

The new directive means that the lockdown in the two states and the FCT has been extended for one week with new nationwide measures to be introduced.

“The restrictions on social and religious gatherings shall remain in place,” he said while announcing new measures that would be adopted when the lockdown is relaxed from May 4.

“There will be an overnight curfew from 8pm to 6am. This means all movements will be prohibited during this period except for essential services; “There will be a ban on non-essential inter-state passenger travel until further notice; “Partial and controlled interstate movement of goods and services will be allowed for the movement of goods and services from producers to consumers” .

The president also said there will be “mandatory use of face masks or coverings in public in addition to maintaining physical distancing and personal hygiene,” adding however that “state governments, corporate organisations and philanthropists are encouraged to support the production of cloth masks for citizens.”