Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has announced restrictions as the lockdown on the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic on Lagos eases from Monday, 4 May 2020.
Sanwo-Olu who also is the Incident Commander has also detailed the phased restriction on lockdown especially for markets, religious outfits and financial institutions.
Read full speech below:
Dear Lagosians,
1. Tomorrow we will commence a modified phase of the four-week Lockdown directed by President Muhammadu Buhari. This new phase is a gradual and controlled easing of the Lockdown, and will last for six weeks, in three phases of two weeks each.
2. The goal is to enable us achieve a balance between the protection of lives and the sustenance of livelihoods. Following each phase, the Federal and State Governments will review the situation and further adjust the response.
3. Dear Lagosians, we have been able to take advantage of the lockdown to significantly boost our capacity to contain the threat of this pandemic, and to roll out a robust package of palliative measures to you the good people of Lagos State.
4. We opened new Isolation Facilities in Oniru and Gbagada, adding 120 beds to our capacity. We also opened a new testing facility at the Lagos State Biobank, while also scaling up our active community case search, by opening sample collection centers across the State.
5. The success of our efforts at ramping up testing is the reason why we are seeing an escalation in the number of cases in Lagos State.
6. As at yesterday, May 2, 2020, we had 1,084 confirmed cases, while 247 have been treated and discharged. In terms of active cases, we have 791 cases; and very sadly, we have now lost 28 persons to the pandemic.
7. As we test more people, we are likely to find more confirmed cases. This is certainly the right approach, as the more we are able to track and find positive cases of the infection, the easier it will be for us to take the steps required to contain and finally defeat the pandemic.
8. These steps will not be easy. We have already seen that, having lived through a 5-week lockdown, unprecedented in our lifetimes. It has demanded sacrifices and tremendous amounts of discipline from us. Lives and livelihoods have been disrupted, life as we knew it has been dramatically altered.
9. But these are the times that we live in, and it is our responsibility to adapt, because that is the only way we can guarantee that we will emerge alive and well on the other side of this pandemic.
10. In this vein, I have just concluded 2 virtual meetings with some of our first-class traditional rulers in the state to jointly discuss and agree the modalities of ensuring that advocacy and awareness of this pandemic is as strong as it can get in our communities.
11. I am pleased to announce that we have received the firm and unequivocal support and commitment of all our traditional rulers to embark on a robust and sustained sensitization campaign of all our public health advisories within their various communities.
12. Dear Lagosians, in line with the guidance issued by the Presidential Task Force, I would now go on to outline how this first phase of the controlled easing period will work in Lagos State.
13. Starting tomorrow, Monday May 4, 2020, for the next two weeks, there will be a curfew across the State from 8pm to 6am daily.
14. All movement in and out of Lagos is prohibited, except for people carrying out essential services or transporting essential products such as agroproducts, petroleum products, relief items, construction materials and registered courier
services.
15. All public servants in the entire Lagos State Public Service are to remain at home tomorrow, May 4, 2020.
16. From Tuesday, May 5, 2020, only critical staff on Grade Levels 15 and above, AND who have also been specifically adjudged as critical staff by their Accounting Officers will be expected to go to work.
17. Frontline workers across all levels are, however expected to continue working.
18. In the same vein, all staff of the Local Government and Local Council Development Area Offices in the state are expected to remain at home at this time, unless directed by their LGA or LCDA Chairmen.
19. All open markets and stores will be allowed to operate on alternate days between the hours of 9am and 3pm. Markets and Stores selling food items will open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, while Markets and Stores selling all other Items, excluding food, will open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
20. Private Sector Companies and Businesses will be permitted to operate within a limited framework. What this means is that any offices and businesses that choose to open are allowed to open only between 9am and 3pm daily; and must limit the number of staff on the business premises to no more than sixty percent (60%) of full capacity, at any point in time.
21. To achieve this, we are encouraging companies to operate flexible systems such as combining a WorkFrom-Home policy with Shifts for staff who have to be in the office. Offices that choose to have some of their staff come into the office must also put in place adequate and complete arrangements for the daily transportation of these staff, to and from work, to reduce the risk of exposure to infection while commuting on public transport.
22. In the case of banks and other financial institutions, we are encouraging them to open their branches and offer their full complement of services to the public. But they must make sure that they comply with all the directives regarding maximum office capacity and physical distancing.
23. Manufacturing and Construction Companies will be allowed to operate between 9am and 6pm. Any such company that has to operate outside these hours must obtain a Waiver from the Lagos State Government.
24. The issuance of these Waivers will be conditional upon a firm commitment from the applying Company that it will make adequate and complete
arrangements for the transportation of staff between their homes and places of work.
25. Eateries and Restaurants will be allowed to open between 9am and 7pm, but only for take-out and delivery services. No in-dining services will be permitted.
26. All places of worship, formal or informal, are to remain closed from any form of assemblage or congregational services, until further notice. Let me emphasize that this prohibition applies also to religious gatherings that may be conducted within homes, such as communal Tarawih prayers, or House Fellowships.
27. All schools, at primary, secondary and tertiary levels, remain physically closed. Private school proprietors and parents/guardians are encouraged to meaningful dialogue regarding the delivery of education through various online and digital channels, and very importantly, the cost implication of same.
28. All Recreational Parks, Spas, Salons, Sporting Facilities, and Public Gyms, Swimming Pools and Sporting Facilities shall continue to remain closed, until further notice.
29. Hotels are to remain closed till further notice. However, those hotels being used by the State Government to accommodate frontline medical personnel, as well as those hotels designated and being used as Quarantine and Isolation Centers are wholly exempted from this directive.
30. Any hotel that is not exempted from this directive, and is found to be open or operational will not only be sealed; but will be prosecuted by the Lagos State
Government.
31. Commercial / Commuter operations within Lagos State shall be between the hours of 6am and 7pm daily. This applies only to motor vehicles. All commercial motorcycle operations in Lagos State are hereby suspended until further notice. Tricycles operating in unrestricted areas must not carry more than two passengers per trip.
32. Water Transport Operations shall however be restricted to the period between 6am and 6pm daily.
33. Our directives on the conduct of Funerals will continue to be in place. We encourage all families who have pending funerals to go ahead and carry them out, with no more than 20 persons present, including the officiating religious leaders. Receptions and Parties are prohibited; all guests must disperse to their homes immediately after the funeral ceremony.
34. All of the above directives and restrictions I have outlined must be underlined and accompanied by the following mandatory practices:
– The use of face-masks everywhere in public, and strict adherence to personal hygiene practices: nose and mouth must be covered when sneezing or coughing; hands must be washed or sanitized regularly; and no handshakes or hugs.
– The provision of hand-washing or sanitizing facilities and mandatory temperature checks in all the public places that are allowed to operate: Markets, Stores,
Eateries, Offices, Public Transport (including Motor Parks and Boat Jetties), Ports, and so on.
– All Buses, Taxis, Boats/Ferries and Tricycles must ensure that they carry alcohol-based sanitizers on board at all times, and ensure that all drivers and passengers wear face masks.
– Regular disinfection or decontamination must be carried out by the management of all Markets, Motor Parks, Boats/Ferries, and other places where people gather.
– Finally, crowds must be avoided by all means.
35. Further to my directive a couple of addresses ago, wherein I mentioned that vehicles impounded
36. Right after this address, we will be issuing the full and unabridged framework that will guide the conduct of persons and businesses in this new phase of controlled easing of the lockdown.
37. To make it easier for the full enforcement of compliance with these directives, the Lagos State Government has launched Whistle blower hotlines.
38. We are encouraging all Lagosians to be on the lookout for those who flout these orders and directives, and to report them to the Hotline, by calling or sending a text message to the following numbers: 0901-051-3197 or 0901-051-3198 or 0901051-3199.
39. We will investigate all reports, and ensure that we take appropriate action. Penalties and sanctions will be accordingly meted out to all those found contravening the directives.
40. Dear Lagosians, as I end this address, one thing bears repeating: the gradual easing of the lockdown which commences tomorrow is not a license to all to flood the streets. We are not going from zero to hundred.
41. I would caution that we still remain at home, if we truly are able to continue to work remotely and away from the office. We should only be out, unless it is absolutely necessary to be out.
42. As I have always said, we are not in normal times, and these challenging times will very likely be with us for some time to come.
43. As long as this pandemic is with us, the disruptions we have seen will continue in one form or another. We do not know when we will be able to resume what we once regarded as our normal lives, or even whether those times we are now nostalgic about, will ever come back.
44. What we however know is that the only way forward is the path of discipline and sacrifice; strict adherence to all directives and guidelines regarding personal hygiene, movement, and public behaviour.
45. We also know that we cannot plan far out into the future; instead we must, for the time being, live our lives in short phases of time, and continue to adjust our behaviour and our responses as we go along.
46. On our part as a State Government, I pledge that we will continue to be open and transparent about our response to this Pandemic. We will continue to give you regular updates, and to take feedback from you.
47. In these difficult times, let us strive to retain the essence of our humanity: kindness, selflessness, service. We must never take advantage of the uncertainty of the season to cheat or exploit people. Whether as employers, businesses, or service providers of any kind, we must do everything in our power to extend kindness and consideration to those we are dealing with.
48. I have no doubt that we will get through this, we will triumph over this pandemic. That is the spirit of Lagos; that is who we are as Lagosians.
