Coronavirus: Nigerian government gives 8 conditions to reopen religious centres, cancels ablution

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has issued out eight guidelines as condition for the re-opening of religious centres in the country, to ensure safe gatherings and prevent exposure to coronavirus infection in religious settings.

Penpushing reports that, the centre listed the guidelines on Saturday which are that: there should be no entry without face masks, all attendees and religious leaders must wear a face mask, people who are sick should not go to places of worship,there should be a temperature screening on entry and hand washing facilities and hand sanitizers should be provided at points of entries and strategic points.

The conditions also include: attendance to religious settings should not exceed one third of sitting capacity, religious centres should be clearly marked such that people sit and maintain two metres distance from each other, there should be no form of direct contact,practices such as hand shake as peace signs are discouraged, practice that requires sharing of materials should be limited, adding that for example ablution should be performed at home, and religious centres should be disinfected routinely, before and after service.

Penpushing further reports that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) emphasized that the new guideline is developed following the review of the movement restrictions by the Presidential Task Force on coronavirus.

The Presidential, Task force( PTF) on coronavirus had on June 2 announced the relaxation of the previous ban on religious gatherings, allowing faith groups to meet while adhering strictly to public health and social distancing.

Penpushing also reports that, Nigeria Government had placed a ban on social and religious gatherings to limit the spread of coronavirus, and it is on record that. since the index case in February the country has been reporting increasing cases, while as at the time of filing this report, at least a case of the virus has been reported in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory.