UPDATE: President Buhari announces phased, gradual easing of lockdown

President Muhammadu Buhari has announced the phased and gradual easing of lockdown that was earlier announced in Lagos State, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Ogun State from May 4, 2020.

This was disclosed by the president in his nationwide broadcast on Monday, April 27, 2020.

This effectively means that the lockdown has been extended by a further 2 weeks.

The president said that the decision is in line with the recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, the various Federal Government committees that have reviewed the socio-economic matters and the Nigeria Governors Forum.

The president in his speech also said that in arriving at the decision, the Federal Government considered the following :

• They assessed how our factories, markets, traders and transporters can continue to function while at the same time respecting adhering to the NCDC guidelines on hygiene and social distancing.
• Assessed how our children can continue to learn without compromising their health.
• Reviewed how our farmers can safely plant and harvest in this rainy season in order to ensure our food security is not compromised and
• Also discussed how to safely transport food items from rural production areas to industrial processing zones and ultimately, to the key consumption centres.

Buhari, however, noted that the phased and gradual easing of the lockdown will be strictly followed with aggressive reinforcements of testing and contact testing measures while allowing the restoration of some economic and business activities in certain sectors.

It can be recalled that the president in his nationwide address two weeks ago, extended the lockdown in FCT, Lagos and Ogun States as part of measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, since the extension, the number of confirmed cases has risen from 323 cases in 20 states and FCT to 1273 cases in 32 states and the FCT.