Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has ordered the relaxation of the lockdown imposed on the state following the outbreak of COVID-19.
The Governor gave the directive, Thursday during a COVID 19 press briefing held at the Government House, saying that henceforth, all the days of the week are now free for the people of the state to go about their businesses.
He advised the elderly and people living with underlying diseases such as cancer to stay at home so as to avoid exposing their selves to the disease.
While appreciating President Buhari for lifting the ban on inter state movement, Ganduje said that the state would maintain its testing capacity at all the entry and exit borders.
He noted that at these posts, “Those who are found with the symptoms of the disease would taken out for proper testing and if found positive, they would go for isolation”
The governor explained that the review was informed by the progressive decline in the spread of the disease in the state but cautioned all these would come to futility, if the people did not adhere to the protocols of the disease.
To this end, he directed a strict enforcement of the use of face masks in the state, asking security agencies to arrest anybody who fails to wear a face mask while saying that the mobile tribunal on COVID 19 would be in full force to convict such violators.
He also restated the ban on nstreet hawking in the state and ordered that tricycle should carry only two passengers adding that drivers who fail to abide by this would be arrested and surcharged.
The governor also restated the law outlawing the carriage of passengers on motorcycles, saying that motorcycles in the state must carry only its driver and nobody else.
Ganduje equally directed civil servants on grade level 12 and above in the state to resume work with effect from Monday, the 6th January adding that they should work only from 900 to 200 pm in order to reduce the chances of spreading the disease.
He, however, said that the workers would be exposed to periodic test for temperature while adding that facilities for the washing of hands, including sanitizers,would be made available to the workers
He said that schools would soon be reopened as directed by the Federal Government, saying that in line with the directive , only the final year students in both primary abd secondary school, including those in JSS 3 that would be resuming.