The Federal Government has reintroduced COVID-19 restrictions across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

As announced by the National Incident Manager, Mukhtar Mohammed, during the Presidential briefing in Abuja on Monday, the nationwide COVID-19 curfew which is  to curtail the further spread of the disease  would take effect from midnight on Monday, 12 am to 4 am.

He also said with effect from Tuesday, night clubs, gyms, and others would remain closed till further notice.

Mohammed further noted that gatherings of religious groups and weddings have been reduced to 50 percent attendance.

“While official engagements, meetings, and conferences should continue to hold virtually, ” he said.

On his part, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, said returning foreign passengers who fled the quarantine facilities and violated the compulsory requirement would not go unpunished.

He noted that the committee has received reports that some persons who recently returned to the country violated the mandatory quarantine requirement under the advisory by escaping from the facilities.

Mustapha, who is also the PSC Chairman, condemned the violation of the nation’s laws and hospitality, noting that the committee was awaiting the report of ongoing investigations and would impose appropriate sanctions on the violators.

He revealed that the PSC has considered several pre-emptive measures to be taken to mitigate the likely impact of the variants of COVID-19, should they get imported into Nigeria.

The SGF explained that the step became important in view of the fragile state of the nation’s health systems, the disruption to the delivery of vaccines, and the lack of compliance with the extant public health measures and social measures contained in the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Health Protection Regulations 2021.

According to him, it is imperative to reinstitute the various public health measures that were put in place under the health protection regulations.