Bomba Dauda
The Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasiru El-rufai has reopened the state after about 10 weeks of partial lockdown. El-rufai made the declaration on the reopening of the state in a media broadcast, yesterday.
“My dear people of Kaduna State,” he said. Adding that, “I am pleased to proclaim that under the powers vested in me by Section 45 of the Constitution, the Quarantine Act, the Public Health Law of Kaduna State and the Infectious Diseases Regulation issued pursuant to these, the State Government hereby makes the following announcements as Quarantine Order No. 2 of 2020:
“As from tomorrow, Wednesday, 10 June 2020, the Quarantine Order is amended to permit a significant reopening of the state.
“Subject to compliance with safe reopening protocols, the following measures will be in place in the first instance until 30th June 2020, subject to amendment, extension or renewal:
“Restriction of intra-state movement is lifted, subject to a night-time curfew of 8pm to 5am.
“Businesses can reopen, subject to the provision of thermometers for temperature checks, sanitizers or handwashing 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 Jumat 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;
“Supermarkets and providers of personal services such as hair dressing and barbing salons can reopen;
“Hotels can fully open, but with their restaurants and bars offering only room service.
“Restaurants may all reopen after decontamination, but are still restricted to takeaway services.
“Public servants will be summoned back to work in phases to be announced by the Head of Service.
“At this stage of Covid-19 containment, it is still considered unsafe for markets and schools to reopen, and we will keep engaging with the relevant stakeholders on the matter, to determine the appropriate timing and conditions precedent.
“We urge citizens to take responsibility and comply with these measures. 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 reimposed to preserve health and protect lives
“As we further open up Kaduna State, our officials will continue to control state boundaries to reduce unauthorised interstate travel. Within the state, security checkpoints will be allowed only to enforce compliance with the nighttime 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.
“Covid-19 has exposed several weaknesses in our public service and health systems and that we will do our utmost to remedy. The pandemic provides a unique opportunity to strengthen our public health systems. We are aggressively investing more in health infrastructure and in expanding access to virtual medicine.
“Our citizens, the education sector and the public service require reliable digital infrastructure to enable public servants to do a lot more work remotely. Therefore, we will accelerate investments to close any GSM service gaps, and upgrade and extend the 4G footprint throughout the state.
“We will support our farmers and the business community to take full advantage of fiscal stimulus opportunities embedded in the Federal Government Economic Sustainability Plan to maintain and expand employment
“Major lessons learnt from this pandemic will be incomplete without a resolve to develop a sustainable social safety net for the poor and vulnerable. The continued contribution of public servants’ pay and funds from private donations to purchase food and other palliatives is not sustainable way to support the poorest. We have secured the support of donors to work on developing a viable social safety net as a priority.
“We will continue to implement the policy of repatriating almajirai back to their parents to afford them due care and the right to free education. This is 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 b their parents, leading to child abuse, mistreatment and an uncertain future.
“Let me use my privileged position of being a Covid-19 survivor to appeal to our citizens aged 50 and above to take due care to avoid getting infected. Covid-19 can kill anybody but it is especially lethal to older people. As we open up, 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.
“Fellow citizens, let us protect each other from Covid-19 by observing health guidelines. As we open up, let us make it a safe moment by committing to personal responsibility. 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 ten weeks under partial lockdown. Let us show that we can stay safe in relaxed conditions.”
