…air travel to resume
… Inter-state travel to resume
…Schools to resume but restricted to graduating students
MON, JUN 29 2020-theG&BJournal- President Muhammadu Buhari Monday approved the extension of the nationwide Phase 2 lockdown with sweeping modifications after ‘’careful consideration’’ of the 5th Interim Report of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
The Phase 2 of the eased lockdown will now extend for another 4 weeks starting Tuesday 30 June to midnight 27 July 2020. In Other words, the current phase of the national response will be retained for another 4 weeks but with modifications that allows interstate economic activity back without much hindrance.
The PTF chairman said that much of the Task Force decisions where taken with the input of state governors, ‘’most of who requested specifically for interstate travel restriction to be lifted.’’
The modifications announced today by the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF) Boss Mustapha includes:
-the permission of movement across state borders, only outside COVID-19 curfew hours with effect from July 1, 2020,
-enforcement of laws around non-pharmaceutical interventions by states in particular, the use of face masks in public places,
-safe reopening of schools to allow only students in graduating classes to resume in preparation for examinations,
-safe reopening of domestic aviation services as soon as practical,
-publication of revised guidelines around the three thematic areas of general movement, industry and labour and community activities,
-provision of technical support for states to mobilise additional resources for the response
-strengthening partnership with states, local governments, traditional rules, community and religious leaders and the civil society to ensure great public awareness and compliance with preventive guidelines,
-encourage state governments to empower local government authorities to intensify contact tracing efforts and ensure stronger grass roots mobilization to support the response,
-encourage states and hospital authorities to ensure continuity of other health services to prevent fatalities from other live threatening conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and
-deepening collaborations across board to harmonize the COVID-19 response in the short-medium and long terms.
The details of the revised guidelines will be published by the National Co-ordinator of the PTF, Dr Aliyu Sani, while the relevant MDAs including education, transportation and aviation will respectively consult further with stakeholders and issue guidelines for their sectors.
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