As the second wave hits harder, all hands are on deck to ensure Nigeria adequately minimises the spread of coronavirus

Nigeria’s ministry of health announced 12 new guidelines for religious gatherings in the country

It is predictable that Nigerians will continue to troop to places of worship

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As Nigeria keep on battling the second wave of the dreaded coronavirus, federal authorities in the country are trying to reduce the likelihood of mass infections.

On Friday, January 15, the federal ministry of health published other protocols for religious centres to adhere to.

The protocols include 12 revised guidelines for religious gatherings to adhere to as to lessen the spread of coronavirus.

See guidelines below:

1. Ensure temperature checks at points of entry, persons with temperature over 37.5⁰C should be asked to leave and seek medical attention.

2. Have handwashing facilities in front of places of worship. For Muslims, encourage them to perform ablution at home.

3. Clearly separate and mark areas in place of worship, to ensure 2 metres distance between people.

4. Ensure separate entry and exit points in places for worship and overcrowding at entry and exit points.

5. Offer alcohol-based hand sanitisers as they enter the place of worship

6. Inform worshippers to keep a 2 metres distance from the nearest worshipper

7. Ensure adequate ventilation in halls of worship, open windows, and doors for air to circulate in and out freely most especially when using air conditioners

8. To abide by NCDC guidelines on mass gathering, places of worship may have to hold several worship and prayer sessions in a day with a limited number of participants in each service according to available space.

9. As much as possible, virtual meetings, preaching and visits are encouraged in place of physical ones.

10. Encourage congregating in open spaces

11. Establish a regular sanitising or cleaning routine, surfaces frequently touched must be cleaned at intervals during worship

12. Always and ensure and enforce the use of facemasks. Notices on the use of facemask must be placed at entry points and within premises of places of worship.

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In a correlated development, following the declaration for the resumption of academic activities for all public and private schools across the country, the federal ministry of education revised the COVID-19 guidelines for schools.

As part of the new guidelines, the federal government has suspended assembly and visiting days in all the schools.

Likewise, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on Friday, January 15, declared that it has shifted the date for the reopening of camps across Nigeria.

This was made known by NYSC’s director-general, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, during a sensitisation webinar for the 2020 Batch B Stream II corps members.