Ogun govt suspends planned reopening of worship centres 

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Friday suspended the planned reopening of worship centres in the state.

Abiodun, who disclosed this at a press conference in Abeokuta, recalled that he met with the religious leaders recently and was prepared to lift the ban on the religious centres on Friday.

He, however, said the community transmission of the virus had been on the increase due to the people’s poor compliance with the guidelines put in place by the government to flatten the curve of the transmission in the state.

Abiodun, therefore, directed that all churches and mosques in the state should remain shut.

He said: “Regrettably, despite the spirited efforts of the government to create awareness about the deadly nature of the pandemic and the guidelines in place to flatten the curve of the spread, the compliance level of our people is still very much below expectation.

“Many are yet to appreciate that there is a new normal that demands a new way of life that is not optional and is also an individual responsibility in the final analysis.

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“I wish to emphasise that the number of the dead patients from COVID-19 related complications or the sick may appear to many as just mere statistics, but to those who are directly impacted, these are not just numbers.

“The challenge posed by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic is multi-faceted.

“Apart from the generally known facts that there is no vaccine or cure yet, the trajectory of the spread of the virus is also a moving target, despite the best efforts at arresting the spread of this highly infectious and deadly enemy.

“One key lesson is that those who relaxed the restrictions too early are paying dearly and hurriedly re-imposing even tougher measures than those lifted prematurely.

“Unfortunately, the consequences for the hasty decision are human lives that could have been saved or ailments that could have been avoided.”

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