Governor Abiodun Announces Dates For Reopening Of Worship Centres And Schools In Ogun

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun has announced the tentative resumption of religious centres and academic activities, which had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While addressing newsmen at his Okemosan office, in Abeokuta, on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, Governor Abiodun said worship centres are to be reopened on August 14.

The Governor also said pupils in graduating classes – Primary 6, JSS 3 and SSS 3 are to resume on Monday, August 4.

Aniodun said that his administration resolved to lift the ban earlier placed on religious gatherings and schools after due consultation with critical stakeholders.

He announced that worship centres will tentatively reopen on August 14 on the condition that they adhere to the guidelines.

The guidelines include: the use of facemasks and hand sanitizers, social distancing, and the provision of medical, toilet and hygiene facilities.

Others are: Muslims should perform ablution at home and go to mosque with personal praying mats; certified medical personnel to check worshippers’ temperature before admittance to venues; handshakes, hugs and air conditioners to be avoided in all centres; provision of isolation rooms, as well as digital cameras to record services, in each centre.

He noted that duration of services should not be more than an hour and a half, while intervals in the case of multiples should be of the same duration.

“Large worship centres (with more than 200 worshippers in a given service) to further pursue concurrence with the State Government Committee, towards ensuring ventilation and effective entry and exit management procedure and the avoidance of item sharing during Holy Communion,” he added.

Speaking on schools resumption, he said there will be two weeks revision classes for SSS 3 students in order to prepare them for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), starting on August 17.

“In line with the federal government resolutions, exit classes-strictly SS3 only (public or private schools), will resume classes on Tuesday, August 4, 2020. Then, there will be a two-week revision classes to prepare the SS3 students for the commencement of the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) slated to start on Monday, 17th August, 2020,” he clarified.

The governor also said that he was ready to invoke the appropriate section of the statute book, which stipulated a six-month jail term on anyone caught not wearing the facemask.

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Ogun state current recorded 1336 cases of coronavirus which has infected 42,208 across the country.