Kwara Government says worship centres may reopen from Friday, June 5 if religious centres satisfy certain criteria already agreed with various religious umbrella bodies in the state.
Mr Kayode Alabi, the Deputy Governor and Chairman of the Technical Committee on COVID-19, stated this while briefing newsmen in Ilorin on Wednesday.
He, however, warned that the concession for churches and mosques to reopen does not mean that the state had flattened the curve of transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said the decision came hours after the Kwara State Technical Committee on COVID-19 held a marathon meeting with the leadership of the Muslim and Christian communities, including the Jama’atu Nasrul Islam (JNI) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
“We are definitely not out of the woods as cases continue to rise, especially because of violation of travel restrictions
“The meeting centred around whether or not to reopen the worship centres across the state, as suggested by the Federal Government.
” However, in line with the presidential advisory and the positions of our religious umbrella bodies in the state, worship centres may reopen from June 5, provided they satisfy the following conditions:
“Worship centres shall be organised by the respective head of the congregation in such a way that one attendant is at least one metre away from the next
” Each worship centre shall make provisions for hand washing or hand sanitiser and infrared thermometer
” Wearing of face masks shall be mandatory for all worshippers
“There shall be no hand shaking or hugging among worshippers
” Children remain restricted from worship centres and people above 65 or persons with underlying health conditions are urged to stay away from worship centres
“Muslims should perform ablution from their own houses. Ablution spots are not allowed for now to avoid the spread of the virus.
” Muslim women are to stay away from mosques, as suggested by the leadership of the Muslim community in the state.
“Each worship centre is to dedicate a few minutes before service or prayers to educate attendants about COVID-19 and its dangers,” the deputy governor said.
He said the government’s Rapid Response Team (RRT) shall conduct random visit to worship centres to take samples and do temperature checks.
The deputy governor said that government shall hold affected religious leaders responsible for non compliance with all COVID-19-related safety measures in their worship centres.
He added that all the conditions was agreed to by the religious umbrella bodies.
He said further that the leadership of religious communities agreed that any worship centre that violated these provisions would be shutdown and its leadership strictly held accountable.
