The Anambra State Government has informed the general public that activities at night clubs throughout the state have been banned for one month, with effect from Wednesday, December 23, 2020.
A release issued by the State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr C. Don Adinuba, said the ban was in response to reports of increasing incidences of COVID-19 in various parts of the world, including the United Kingdom where a new strain of coronavirus, more infectious and more deadly, has been reported.
According to the release, huge spikes in numbers of COVID-19 in some states in Nigeria have also been reported.
The Commissioner noted that Ndi Anambra are returning from these places with high incidences of COVID-19 to celebrate the Christmas and New Year season with their families, friends, kindred, villages and towns and contribute to numerous development projects and programmes.
He said Government is, therefore, obliged to act swiftly, assuring that government must do everything to avoid a situation where a lockdown would be inevitable.
The Commissioner further informed that the suspension of activities at night clubs is the first in a series of measures which the Anambra State government will have to take to protect citizens from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic which seems to be in its second wave in Nigeria.
He observed that people come in close contact with each other at night clubs, making the night clubs a veritable super spreader for COVID-19.
Anambra State Government again, reminded the citizens of the imperative to observe a social or physical distance of six metres, including during religious services.
He also spoke of the need to wear face masks which cover their nostrils and mouth anytime they are out of their houses because the nose and mouth are two orifices through which coronavirus enters the system.
The Commissioner further stated that the need to wash hands regularly with running water and soap for at least twenty seconds cannot be overemphasized, adding that same goes for the need to apply sanitisers on hands when they are not visibly dirty, otherwise soap will be better to use to wash hands.
Commissioner Adinuba posited that the Government and people of Anambra State have been exemplary so far in the fight against COVID-19, stressing the need to display greater dedication in the campaign against the second wave of the highly contagious disease.
He advised any person with an unusual headache and fever or loses the sense of taste or the sense of smell to proceed immediately to the local government headquarters where trained officers will collect his or her samples for a COVID-19 test because fever and headache are not always symptoms of malaria or any other common illness.
He also pointed out that even any person who does not have any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 can go for a test.
The Information Commissioner said both testing for the pandemic and the treatment are free in Anambra State, adding that early detection often results in successful management of the case.
He further explained that that any person diagnosed with the disease need not be treated in any of the protective care centres, otherwise known as isolation centres, as such person can be treated at home.
He noted that the State Ministry of Health has not lost any of the COVID-19 patients treated at home.
Finally, the Commissioner maintained that as millions of our people return from different parts of Nigeria and foreign countries in a period of sharply increased cases of COVID-19, everybody has a duty to go the extra mile to make Anambra State remain the safest place in West Africa in every sense.
He advised all to attend only functions which are absolutely necessary this Christmas and New Year season, otherwise, they should stay at home and stay safe.
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