The Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has announced September 21 as reopening date for primary and secondary schools in the state.
Like in other states of the federation, schools in the Ekiti were shut down in March in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak in the country.
Also, worship centres in the state can now hold two services on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Reprieve also came the way of events centres and Halls which can now throw their doors open on the condition that they will admit only 50 percent of their normal ccapacities.
Gov. Kayode Fayemi announced these measures on Sunday evening, in a state-wide broadcast.
Releasing a timetable for a phased resumption of primary and secondary schools in the state, the governor said students in SSS II, JSS III and Primary six are to resume on September 21, while students in SSS I, JSS II and Primary 5 and 4 are to resume one week later on September 28.
Students in JSS I and Primary 1-3 are expected back in school on October 19, while pupils in Kindergarten and Nursery Schools are expected to resume on November 2, when more assurances of safety for their age bracket would have been established.
Goc. Fayemi also directed that tertiary institutions in the state should re-open from October 2, subject to each institution’s Governing Council decision and strict adherence to safety protocols.
He said the authorities of the tertiary institutions should liaise with the Ekiti COVID-19 Task Force for guidance on the appropriate measures to be put in place before reopening.
According to the governor, the decision to open more classes was taken because there had been no spike traceable to students in exit classes writing their certificate examinations, a situation which showed that “our preventive measures to safeguard them from being infected has been effective,” he added.
On worship centres, Fayemi said they could hold two services on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, henceforth.
However, midweek services and night vigils were still banned.
“After a careful review and advice by the experts, I am glad to announce that worship centres can now hold two services on Friday, Saturday or Sunday as the case may be.
“But mid-week activities and night vigils remain suspended for now. Other protocols and regulations concerning worship centres reopening still subsist.”
Also on social scene, Gov. Fayemi said: “Owners of halls and event centres may now be allowed to rent out their facilities but under no condition should such a facility contain more than 50 per cent of its normal capacity.
“This is to allow for social distancing. Events centres are expected to observe all protocols prescribed for religious centres and to obtain certificate of readiness before opening.”
The governor, however, expressed concern on the flouting of social distancing rules and non-use of face masks, saying that enforcement would also be scaled up to ensure compliance with COVID-19 regulations.
His words: “While we have progressively responded to the initial lockdown with gradual relaxation in line with the progress made, we must remain vigilant as we cannot afford to indulge ourselves such that a spike may recur as a result of flagrant disobedience to the established protocol.
“We cannot afford to go back into another round of lockdown with its attendant repercussions. This point needs to be emphasized; though, there is a national decline in number of cases, there has been a noticeable upsurge in Ekiti.
“One proof of this is the unpleasant but consistent figures that we have recorded in the last month. As at the time I addressed you on Aug. 5, 2020, there were only 152 confirmed cases in Ekiti.
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“Today, we have recorded a total of 299 cases which means we recorded 147 new cases within a month.
“You would recall that the total recorded cases from March to August were 152. This suggests that from August to date, we have had near 100 per cent new cases, even while national number has maintained a stable decline.
“It is in view of this that I have issued a new directive to the law enforcement agencies to ramp up their enforcement activities. We should not delude ourselves that we are out of the pandemic until there is a reliable vaccine in place.
“Even as we continue to evaluate situations and act promptly, I urge you to take personal measures and responsibility by adhering to all existing protocols as not doing so could jeopardize our collective wellbeing.”
