Following the weeks of lockdown which put activities including burial ceremonies on hold, the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has raised the alarm over the congestion of Lagos mortuaries, calling on the residents to come and claim their dead bodies
The Governor also granted amnesty to over 209 prison inmates, saying that the inmates who are over 60 years of age and those with less than six months to complete their jail terms were the beneficiaries.
Governor Sanwo- Olu urged Lagosians to begin to use the face masks, saying the usage would reduce the chance of local transmission within the communities and other public places.
He explained that all the corpses are not covid-19 cases, but those who had lost their lives for other reasons.
He said: “The outcome of this lockdown is that many families and households have had to postpone funeral plans for loved ones who have passed away before or during this period. As you might know, many Christian denominations do not carry out funerals during the Lenten Season. Funerals are typically kept on hold during this period, and scheduled for the period immediately following the end of Lent. Unfortunately, this year, the Covid-19 Lockdown coincided with the end of Lent, which caused many families and households to further suspend or put off funeral plans.
“Because of this inability to hold funerals, occasioned by the restrictions on movement, the mortuaries in Lagos State are now full and in urgent need of decongestion. Let me make it clear at this point that these are not Covid-19 deaths. I urge the media to be responsible in reporting this: The mortuaries in Lagos are not full because of Covid-19 deaths – the total number of Covid-19 deaths in Lagos as at today is 20; the only reason the mortuaries are full at this time is because funerals are not being held, and have not been held for most of the last two months. I am now constrained to make this appeal to all Lagosians who have the corpses of loved ones in the mortuaries, to please go ahead and schedule these funerals.”
He added that participants at such funerals must not exceed 20 persons including the clerics.
As the Muslims across the globe commenced the Ramadan fasting, Sanwo-Olu appealed to the Muslim faithful in the state to continue to observe the already established lockdown principles and other safety measures to prevent the spread of the pandemic, saying this year’s Ramadan is a unique one that must devoid of the usual practices.
Governor Sanwo-Olu confirmed that Lagos State had a total of 670 confirmed cases of Covid-19, an increase of 291 cases since the last time he addressed the residents.
“What this means is that we have seen a 76% increase in our number of confirmed cases within four days, an average of 70 cases daily. These numbers demonstrate the following: One, that we are now firmly in the community transmission phase of this pandemic in Lagos; two, that our strategy of ramping up testing especially within local communities is working, and three, that this is not the time for us to relax or to slow down in the efforts we are making to break the chain of transmission,” the governor said.
Harping on face masks, he declared wearing of face masks compulsory in public places in Lagos State, saying failure to use masks in public will invite sanctions and penalties.
On the prerogative mercy, Sanwo-Olu added that in exercise of the powers conferred on him by Section 212 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), he had, following the recommendation of the Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, signed a Release Order releasing 209 inmates remanded in various Correctional centres in Lagos State.
And in a related development, the state has recorded another death from the COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths in Lagos to 19.
This was disclosed by the State Ministry of Health via Twitter on Saturday, hours after an additional 80 cases of the Coronavirus were confirmed in the state.
