President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday signed a law to check the
\nspread of COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and the
\nSecretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha,
\ndisclosed this while\u00a0 handing over five ambulances donated by the
\nNigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the Federal Ministry
\nof Health on Wednesday in Abuja.<\/p>\n
Mustapha said that the bill, titled \u201cCOVID-19 Health Protection
\nRegulations 2021\u201d, is an exercise of the powers as conferred on the
\npresident by Section 4 of the Quarantine Act.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe regulations enforce physical distancing of at least two metres and
\na regulation of the number of people to be admitted in an enclosed
\nenvironment<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the exercise of the powers conferred upon me by Section 4 of the
\nQuarantine Act, Cap. Q2 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2010 and all
\nother powers enabling me in that behalf; and in consideration of the
\nurgent need to protect the health and wellbeing of Nigerians in the face
\nof the widespread and rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria, I,
\nMuhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, hereby
\nmake the following Regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first part of the new regulations imposes restrictions of
\ngatherings and enforces a physical distancing of not less than two
\nmeters between persons at all times.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe part also provides that no gathering of more than 50 persons shall
\nhold in an enclosed space, except for religious purposes, in which case
\nthe gathering shall not exceed 50 per cent capacity of the space.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll persons in public gatherings, whether in enclosed or open spaces,
\nshall adhere to the provisions of Part two of these Regulations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe provisions of these regulations may be varied by Guidelines and
\nProtocols as may be issued, from time to time, by the PTF on COVID-19 on
\nthe recommendation of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC),\u201d
\nthe law reads.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second part of the law addresses operations of public places like
\nopen markets, malls, supermarkets, shops, restaurants, hotels, event
\ncentres, gardens, leisure parks, recreation centres, motor parks and
\nfitness centres.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe law provides for wearing of face masks, hands washing, and the use
\nof hand sanitisers, amongst other regulations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt stipulates a penalty of a fine or a prison of six months for
\noffenders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President said that the law takes immediate effect,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the donation, the PTF chairman said that the NNPC donated
\nthe ambulances to the PTF as part of its support to Government-led
\nefforts in curbing the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
According to him, the ambulances donated will be used to support the
\ncountry\u2019s response to the pandemic and the Emergency Operations Centres
\nto expand the current capacity for transportation of cases.<\/p>\n
The SGF acknowledged the support of the NNPC in its fight against the
\nvirus, saying \u201cWe are grateful to the NNPC for the donation of
\nambulances to the PTF. We also thank all individuals and corporate
\norganisations that have continued to donate to the government\u2019s effort
\nto prevent the spread of COVID-19.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mustapha said that If Nigerians were exposed to COVID-19,
\nthey should please quarantine and if there are still ill, they should
\nisolate.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease don\u2019t go out \u2013 to work, socialize or elsewhere \u2013 if you\u2019ve been
\nexposed or have symptoms.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravel is risky \u2013 best to avoid it if you can but if you must, take
\nprecautions including quarantine and testing.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember COVID-19 can spread from people that look and feel well. Don\u2019t
\nlet your guard down around friends or relatives just because they look
\nhealthy \u2013 they may not know they are infected but can unintentionally
\nspread COVID-19,\u201d he advised.<\/p>\n
In his remarks, the Minister of State for Health, Sen. Olorunnimbe
\nMamora, thank the NNPC for the ambulances and noted that emergency
\nmedical situations require a prompt response and any delay could have
\nserious consequences.<\/p>\n
Mamora said that the ambulances would strengthen the efforts of the
\nministry to respond to the health needs of Nigerians, as patients would
\nbe able to receive first aid support while on route to the nearest
\nhealth facility. (NAN)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday signed a law to check the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. The chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and the Secretary to the Government…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n