Coronavirus: Reps urge FG to ban open religious gatherings

* Restricts visitors’ access to NASS complex

The House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the federal government to ban open religious gatherings in mosques, churches and other places of worship to check the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria.

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It also resolved to temporarily ban visitors from the National Assembly complex, saying only members, aides and staff will be allowed into the legislative complex.

This followed the adoption of the motion of urgent public importance moved by Zakari Charles (PDP, Kaduna) at the plenary on Wednesday.

The House also urged the federal government to ban all open worships, public events and other large gatherings across the country.

Also, the lawmakers urged the federal government to sign agreement with Singapore and other countries certified coronavirus-free on production and supply of free testing kits and other infrastructure to curb the disease.

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Debating the motion, Charles said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared coronavirus as pandemic, adding that other countries have tightened their regulations, hence the need for Nigeria to step up action against the disease.

Daily Trust reports that the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) on Wednesday confirmed five new cases of the coronavirus in Nigeria within the last 36 hours.