Coronavirus: Lagos joins Kwara, 9 northern states to shut down schools

The Lagos State Government is closing down all public and private schools from Monday, March 23, 2020 as part of the preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The move became necessary to prevent children and their teachers from getting more vulnerable to the pandemic.

A statement issued late night on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, stressed the need for parents to ensure that their children practise “social distancing” while at home, wash their hands regularly or use hand sanitizers and observe high standards of personal hygiene.

According to her, the closure is not intended to create panic but to arrest the spread of the disease, which has become a global threat.

“Children should be encouraged to remain at home,” she reiterated.

Also, the Kwara State Government announced yesterday that it will shut down schools in the state from Monday, March 23rd in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye.

The Federal Ministry of Health had earlier on Wednesday confirmed five new cases of coronavirus in the country; bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Nigeria to eight.

Four of the new index cases are Nigerians that include a 6-week-old baby. The other is a foreign national who came in through the land border.

Adefisayo assured that the Incident Command Centre, headed by the Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, will continue to trace all contacts of the identified cases and encourage anyone who has information about suspected cases to “report to the nearest hospital or call the emergency telephone numbers: 08023169485, 08033565529, 08052817243 and 08023401214.”