Lagos has approved further easing for social and event centres statewide in line with safety protocols for COVID-19.

The new guidelines mandates event centres to be registered with the government, never to exceed 50% of maximum capacity and to have safety marshals deployed for gatherings exceeding 200 people.

This was disclosed by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Commissioner and the Director General of Lagos State Safety Commission; Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile Yusuff and Mr. Lanre Mojola respectively.

A statement jointly issued by the duo stipulated new guidelines for social and event facilities. Based on the new guidelines, all event centres must hold a valid license of the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture prior to operating as an event center in the State.

Also, all event centres must be duly registered and verified on the Lagos State Safety Commission website www.lasgsafetyreg.com prior to holding any event while an event safety clearance must be obtained from the Commission through the website for any proposed event or exhibition.

It stated that safety marshals shall be deployed by an accredited event safety consultant from the Safety Commission for every social event with attendance exceeding over 200 people; adding that occupancy limit at any event must not exceed 50 percent of the maximum design capacity of the hall, while the Occupancy Limit stickers provided by the Commission must be boldly pasted at the entrance of the event hall.

The guideline further states that maximum allowable capacity for event centres irrespective of occupancy limit is 500 people while physical distancing must be maintained between seated guests, which must not exceed six people on a table of 10 persons.

Also, deep cleaning must be carried out before and after every event, as event duration must not exceed a maximum period of six-hours while all guests and service providers at the facility must wear a nose mask and make use of hand sanitizers.

The state government mandated hand washing for all guests and service providers before entering the venue or in the alternative use hand sanitizers; just as temperature checks must be taken at all entry points into a facility. “Guests and service providers with temperature above 37.5 degrees celsius are to be politely turned back and referred to paramedics or the emergency response team on ground,”

“All event centres must endeavour to display standard COVID-19 safety signs. The signs must be bold and installed at conspicuous locations. Event centre owners/ planners/vendors would be responsible for any breach of protocols by their staff,” Mojola stated, adding that any violation of the protocol shall attract fines and penalties in line with the Lagos State Infectious Diseases Control Regulation 2020.