Coronavirus: Fayemi orders civil servants to work from home, bans gathering of over 20 people

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has ordered some categories of civil servants in the state to work from home in view of the raging Coronavirus pandemic.

The governor also banned gatherings above 20 people and directed all schools from primary to tertiary level be closed indefinitely.

In a statewide broadcast on Friday, the governor said civil servants from level 12 below should stay and work from home, except those on essential duty.

According to him, the steps were necessary to check further spread of the virus in the interest of the citizens.

In his words: ”All public and private schools and institutions in Ekiti State are to close down from Monday, 23rd March, 2020. All public gatherings of more than 20 persons are banned from today 20th March, 2020. These include: religious gatherings e.g. worship and prayer services, night vigils, house fellowships and NASFAT meetings; social gatherings e.g. burials, weddings, family meetings and parties of any kind; political gatherings, e.g. rallies, congresses, ward meetings; night clubs, bars, beer joints, NYSC CDS meetings etc.

“All non-essential services in private and public sectors are encouraged to work from home from Monday 23rd March 2020. These includes civil and public servants from level 12 officers and below; except essential services like health workers, caregivers, social welfare officers, fire service officers, emergency response officers, media professionals, and security/ watchmen in public institutions.

”No overloading of passengers in public transportation with effect from today. Commercial vehicles must ensure only one person is sitting in the front seat with the driver and not more than three passengers on a row in the backseat. Motorcyclists (Okadas) must carry only one passenger each to minimize close contact as much as possible. Hand washing facilities must be available at all motor parks.”

The governor urged residents to wash their hands regularly with liquid soap under running water multiple times everyday to avoid virus transfer, adding that public places must provide hand washing implements at the entrance and exit of their facility with immediate effect.

He added that market men and women must practice hand washing under running water with liquid soap at least six times a day in their stalls, saying this was to minimize the transfer of virus picked up in the process of buying and selling.

According to him, citizens visiting markets must ensure they wash their hands with soap under running water as soon as they leave the market before they got home.

”Unnecessary travels in and out of Ekiti State is hereby discouraged at this time. While we cannot totally shut down the state, we must minimize unnecessary traffic especially from out-of-state, so we can protect our citizens from further importation of the virus and also protect the rest of the country by minimizing the exportation of any virus which may be present in Ekiti State,” he said.

Fayemi stated that the isolation centre had been equipped with necessary facilities needed by health officials and patients.

“While these measures may appear excessive, we cannot afford the spread of a debilitating virus like COVID-19 in Ekiti State. Apart from its alarming mortality rate, especially on senior citizens who constitute a significant part of our demography in Ekiti State, its capacity to destroy the economy of a community is very lethal. As someone has said, “the risk of doing too little is unimaginable, while the risk of doing too much, in this circumstance, is completely irrelevant.” It is thus safer to act excessively in abundance of caution, than to act inadequately and live with scary consequences,” he added.