From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has announced that from the second week of September state residents would need to present a proof of vaccination to access religious houses and other social gatherings.
The governor, who made the disclosure at the flag off of the second phase of COVID-19 vaccination exercise in Benin City, said those who have been vaccinated would have to access large gatherings remotely.
Governor Obaseki, lamenting the surging COVID-19 cases, said the state government has decided to mitigate the spike by pushing for vaccine uptake among Edo residents.
‘With what we have seen so far, the COVID-19 pandemic is here to stay, this is the third wave and there is nothing that point to the fact that other waves will not come. What we are likely to see is intermittent waves of this pandemic,’ the governor said.
‘We are not going to shut down Edo State but we will make sure we protect all Edo citizens. Therefore, I have come out with the following regulations, beginning from the second week of September 2021, large gatherings as well as high traffic public and private places will only be accessed by persons who have proof of taken at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
‘From the second week of September, people will not be allowed to worship in churches and mosques without showing proof of their vaccination cards at the gates. Similarly, people will not be allowed to event centers for parties or receptions without showing proof of vaccination cards at the gates of these occasions.
‘Also, you will not be allowed to access banking services in Edo State from the middle of September if you have not been vaccinated. If you want to do undertake banking services, then you will do so remotely from your homes,’ Obaseki said.
Continuing, the giveror stated: ‘So far in Edo State, we have collected 6,306 samples, out of which 203 cases have been confirmed and four persons, unfortunately, have died from this third wave.
‘What is interesting is that about 96 percent of all the confirmed cases were those people that have not been vaccinated, and the four persons that died were people who have not been vaccinated. So, it tells you how important for us to get vaccinated if we are going to stand a chance of fighting these infections.’
The governor further said that adequate arrangements have been made with security agencies to prevent anybody who does not have a vaccination card from accessing any of the large gatherings.