By Martins Ifijeh
The Lagos State Government has said mosques and churches will reopen to worshipers June 19 and June 21 respectively.
The government had through the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Anofiu Elegushi, on Tuesday said churches, mosques, and other worship centres in Lagos remained shut due to the continued high number of COVID-19 cases in the state.
Speaking at a press briefing Thursday, the state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said there would now be restricted opening of religious houses based on compliance seen and reviewed with the Lagos State Safety Commission.
He said: “From 14 days time, precisely on June 19 for our Muslim worshippers and from June 21 for our Christian worshippers. We will be allowing all of our religious bodies to open at a maximum of 40 percent of their capacity and we will be working with them as being expected by the Lagos State Safety Commission.
“But we know that these places of worship have different sizes but even if your 40 percent capacity is really so large, you cannot have beyond 500 worshippers at once, and keeping that maximum 40 percent capacity is really important.
“We will be encouraging people to have more than one service and ensure that they keep their premises clean, disinfect before another round of worship can take place,” he said.
He also advised that the services would only be Fridays for Muslims and Sundays for Christians, adding that all night vigils and other services must be put on hold for now until the state reviews the current situation.
