The Federal Government on Tuesday asked businesses, offices, professional bodies, places of worship and educational institutions awaiting reopening to use the additional two weeks of phased ease of lockdown to plan and adopt new strategies under a COVID-19 era in line with the guidelines for the new life ahead.
The government also urged Nigerians to prepare for “behavioural change” which “is a must for every citizen because COVID-19 has changed the world completely”.
The government had on Monday said it would maintain the current guidelines on “ease of lockdown” for another two weeks, insisting on strict enforcement of laid-down rules going forward.
Speaking at the daily briefing of PTF on Tuesday, Boss Mustapha, chairman, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and secretary to the government of the federation, assured that the task force was committed and determined to continue to provide the required leadership for this national response.
Mustapha said that in the coming days, intense consultations would be deepened with different segments of the society including the state governments, security agencies, religious and community leaders to ensure a coordinated implementation of the measures.
He reiterated that specific directives have been issued to security agencies to strictly enforce the measures and admonished Nigerians to observe the restrictions in full.
Also, ahead of planned full resumption of business activities across sectors of the Lagos economy, the government has reeled out guidelines expected to be strictly observed by corporate bodies and business outfits, which would subsist in the state until COVID-19 completely blows over.
A white paper developed by the Lagos State Safety Commission said ahead of the planed full reopening, corporate offices and business organisations should ensure all staff with underlying medical conditions, such as heart or lung diseases or diabetes, do not resume at work.
“These categories of staff seem to be at a higher risk of developing serious complications from COVID-19 illness,” said the white paper seen by BusinessDay on Tuesday.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had on Sunday, while giving updates as they relate to the COVID-19 pandemic, said government was considering full reopening of the economy, but with a caveat that the state safety commission and Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) would be visiting offices and business premises to assess the level of their readiness to resume operations.
“We are at a level where we are reviewing the other arms of the economy. In the coming days, we will be starting what we call Register-to-Open, which means all players in the restaurant business, event centres, entertainment, malls and cinemas will go through a form of re-registration and space management,” Sanwo-Olu said on Sunday.
“There is a regulation that will be introduced to supervise this move. We will be coming to their facilities to assess their level of readiness for a future opening. I don’t know when that opening will happen in the weeks ahead, but we want these businesses to begin to tune themselves to the reality of COVID-19 with respect to how their work spaces need to look like,” he said.
The state government began phased and gradual reopening of the Lagos economy on May 4 according to the directives of the Federal Government. However, some critical sectors including tourism and hospitality, sporting, event centres, cinemas, entertainment, and religious gatherings are still on lockdown.
According to the new guidelines released by the state government, business organisations are also expected to set up hotlines for employees to report concerns or violation of any of the COVID-19 protocols. In addition, organisations must encourage staggered breaks as well as limit the capacities of their elevators to two persons (for small elevator) and four persons (for large elevator).
The safety commission further insisted that staff must be made to work side-by-side rather than face-to-face. And for the manufacturing sector particularly, management must assign staff to same shift teams to reduce social interaction, it said.
“No gathering during lunch or break times which must be staggered,” the government said.
It further noted that companies should increase the use of conveyor belts for material distribution and deliveries on factory floors.
The government also encouraged retail outlets and shopping malls to install plexiglass panels at regular points of contact to further reduce the risk infection for all parties.
“Regular cleaning of panels and frequently touched surfaces like door handles, teals must be carried out,” it said.
The government said as much as possible, business premises should encourage contactless payment system and keep doors open where possible to minimise contact while markings inside the banking halls should be carried out to facilitate social distancing.
