COVID-19: Obiano postpones January 18 schools resumption date

Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State has disclosed that between December 7, 2020, and January 11, 2021, the State recorded 110 new cases of COVID-19 in the second wave.

The governor gave the figure in a special broadcast to the people of Anambra, on Tuesday, on the second wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

According to the governor, giving the rise in the incidences of COVID-19 in the state, schools shall not reopen on January 18, 2021, as earlier scheduled.

He said: “Rather, schools shall reopen after two weeks from today (Tuesday) to enable the principals and teachers prepare for the return of our children.”

He urged school managers to revive all the COVID-19 structure and practices that helped to protect children during the first wave of the pandemic.

He called on the churches and other religious organizations to set up Action Teams and go back to the practices that helped in the first phase of the pandemic.

Obiano, however, said that COVID-19 threat is not only real but even more deadly.

“It is more deadly because after struggling with the pandemic for nine months, we have dropped our level of vigilance and returned to our normal lives. But the virus has not gone away. On the contrary, it has come back with renewed viciousness.

“This second wave of COVID-19 did not take us by surprise. We have been monitoring global trends on the pandemic and we saw it coming. We anticipated that the second wave would hit us hard because of our well-known culture of mass return during the Christmas and New Year season. So, we made efforts to prepare our people to mitigate the impending challenge.

“We held wide consultations and town-hall meetings with the Igwes, the religious leaders, civil society organisations, leaders of the market task force, transport operators and leaders of various community groups and associations. During these meetings, we emphasised the need to revive all the structures that helped us survive the first wave of the pandemic.

“Sadly, it appears that our warnings fell on deaf ears. Our people allowed themselves to be carried away by the joys of the Yuletide Season and failed to maintain the COVID-19 protocols. Today, we are faced with a clear and present danger.

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“We must do everything within our power to halt the spread. That is why we have revived up our testing capacity and brought the total number of tests done to 13, 412 tests so far.

“All government offices must observe the standard COVID-19 protocols – washing of hands at the entrance, wearing of facemasks, regular use of hand sanitisers and strict observance of social distancing. Nobody will be allowed into any government premises without properly wearing a face mask. No one should step outside their homes without wearing a facemask.

“The ban on nightclubs is still firmly in place. Hotels are directed to ensure strict compliance with COVID-19 protocols.

“There should not be more than 50 people in any public gathering.

“The COVID-19 Action Teams in all our 61 markets must ensure full compliance with the standard COVID-19 protocols.

“They must set up a hand-washing point at the entrance to each market, take the temperature of visitors to the markets and ensure that both traders and their customers are wearing their facemasks properly.

“All markets in Anambra State are given one week to set-up the necessary safety standards and ensure proper compliance. Any market found violating the standards after one week shall be quickly shut down.

“Transport operators are advised to revert to all the practices that helped us during the first wave of the pandemic. They must ensure social distancing inside the vehicles and maintain a passenger manifest.

“For the sake of emphasis, nobody should go to any market, public places, church, schools, enter any transport, attend functions as stated above without properly wearing of facemasks.”

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COVID-19: Obiano postpones January 18 schools resumption date