• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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BusinessDay

Covid-19: Governor Diri lifts ban on midweek church services in Bayelsa

Douye Diri
Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has lifted the ban on midweek church services, which he imposed as part of measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the state.
Diri announced the lifting of the ban in Government House, Yenagoa, on Tuesday when a delegation of the Bayelsa State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) paid him a congratulatory visit.
The delegation led by the chairman, Jacob Apiri, was there to felicitate with the governor over the recent Supreme Court verdict challenging his candidature of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in last year’s governorship primary election by Timi Alaibe.
Diri stressed the need for the churches to continue to observe the safety measures even as there is fear that the reopening of schools across the country could lead to a rise in the number of cases.
Prior to the announcement, churches in the state only opened their doors for worship on Saturdays and Sundays while all midweek activities including all night programmes were banned.
The Bayelsa State Task Force on Covid-19 had sealed several churches that violated the safety protocols which were only allowed to operate after pledging to observe the protocols.
Church worships were required to end by 1.00pm while maintaining social distance of two meters in addition to provision of sanitizers, water and soap as well compulsory wearing of facemasks.
The number of members that could participate in services was determined by the size of the congregation and large churches could hold several services, but could not exceed 1.00pm.
With the development, church programmes that have been on hold due to the safety guidelines are expected to resume fully in the coming days.
Bayelsa State has so far recorded 339 confirmed cases out of which 34 are active cases, 284 discharged cases and 21 deaths.