Akwa Ibom
The ban on weddings and burials, imposed by Akwa Ibom State government since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in March has been lifted.
The State Governor, Emmanuel Udom who announced this advised residents to strictly adhere to the guidelines provided by the state and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
He said citizens who wish to organise weddings and funerals are free to provided they do not exceed the limit of 50 attendees for open spaces and 30 in buildings. The people in attendance must wear their face masks and have hand sanitizers among other rules given by the CAN.
Governor Udom further disclosed that there will be designated monitoring teams positioned in different parts of Akwa Ibom State to ensure the compliance with the guidelines. He also encouraged the spiritual leaders to ensure strict implementation of guidelines to reduce the spread of the virus.
With regard to residents who were opposed to wearing masks, he said
“Please we don’t want anybody to expose himself or his own family. If you must go out, wear a facemask. If you don’t feel like wearing mask, please stay at home. A lot of people are asymptomatic to this and they keep infecting other people without knowing. And we don’t want this to continue.”
In managing the virus, the governor pleaded with residents to keep staying safe as the state was running out of certain medications and may not be able to handle a spike in cases
He also added the lack of financial support from the federal government by saying.
“As I am talking, I am yet to receive one naira from the federal government to support our fight against COVID-19.“