The governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday ordered public and private schools in the state to close shop as from March 24 as part of precautionary measures to stop the spread of the COVID-19 which has killed over 9,000 persons globally with 4,134 in Europe and 3,416 in Asia.
The governor gave the directive in a statement released late Wednesday evening, through the state’s commissioner for education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo.
“The move becomes necessary to prevent our children and their teachers from getting more vulnerable to the pandemic.
“It is important for parents to ensure that their children practise ‘social distancing’ while at home, wash their hands regularly or use hand sanitizers and observe high standards of personal hygiene.
“Children should be encouraged to remain at home.
“The closure is not intended to create panic but to arrest the spread of the disease, which has become a global threat.
“The Incident Command Centre, headed by the Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who is the incident commander, will continue to trace all contacts of the identified cases and encourage anyone who has information about suspected cases to report to the nearest hospital or call the emergency telephone numbers 08023169485, 08033565529, 08052817243 and 08023401214,” read the statement.
Similarly, governors of the northwest and north central also resolved to close down schools in the region for 30 days following fears caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was contained in a communiqué signed by the chairman of the North-West Governors Forum and governor of Katsina State, Mr. Aminu Masari and North Central Governors Forum, and governor of Niger State, Mr. Sani Bello in Kaduna on Wednesday.
