Following 9 weeks of full and partial lockdown of Nigeria, which started on March 30, the Federal Government has announced plans to further relax COVID-19 restrictions in the country. At a daily media briefing, Chairman of the PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, on Monday, June 1, 2020, announced a new phase of relaxed restrictions. The second phase of the lockdown relaxation will be implemented over the next four weeks, from Tuesday, June 2 to June 29, 2020, subject to review. According to Mustapha, this phase will involve targeting areas of high transmission of COVID-19 in the country, while resources will be mobilised at State and Local Government levels to create awareness on COVID-19 and improve compliance of interventions like ban on gatherings of more than 20 people outside a workplace, and other physical distancing guidelines. To this end, the restriction on religious gatherings has been relaxed but remains subject to guidelines and protocols issued by the PTF and respective State governments.
The Federal Government has also announced that flight operations are likely to resume from June 21. As part of efforts to contain the COVID-19 infection, Nigeria’s airports were shut in March, 2020, halting local and international flight operations, with the exception of essential flight services. Speaking at the daily briefing of the PTF, Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika explained that flight operators are expected to develop and implement necessary regulations and protocols to resume operations by the scheduled date. He added that resumption of international flight operations is subject to directives of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) but underscored that countries with large populations, such as Nigeria, will need to exercise more caution. The National Co-ordinator of the PTF, Sani Aliyu noted that airlines must ensure physical distancing by reducing passenger capacity, providing hand sanitisers, personal protective equipment and conducting temperature checks at the airports.