Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Government has appealed to Muslims across the country to observe the end of Ramadan eid celebration in their homes.
The National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu, made the appeal at the bational briefing of the committee.
“The EID celebration is an important milestone that we urge our Muslim brothers and sisters to observe in the safety of their homes.
He also reiterated the call for banks, offices, malls to start providing temperature check and sanitisers at their entrances as well as provide convenient sitting allowance that will give room for physical distancing.
“The PTF would continue to work with states to align with national guidelines, adding that state governments are still allowed to take decisions in regards to their local settings. We will continue to promote ownership of this response at state level.
“We must remember that we are still in the pandemic where community transmission is becoming quite entrenched. We need to be aware as we move on to further relaxation, this does not mean the risk has gone away.
“We have to make sure that whatever decision we make, we do not drag ourselves back to the beginning of the pandemic. We haven’t safely reach a stage where we can say.”
According to him, the two weeks extension of the gradual easing of lockdown is to reinforce our containment measures against the coronavirus and that this is now the time to intensify efforts by always wearing a mask outside of homes and also staying at home as much as possible.
“I cannot emphasize enough that community transmission is intensifying and how we implement the safety advisories provided will determine how fast we can come out of this pandemic. The existing easing of the lockdown guidelines remain largely the same for the two week extension; no interstate travels except for the transportation of essential services; no passenger flights; all churches, mosques, schools, clubs, bars, parks, sporting and gaming centers must remain closed.”