Coronavirus: Lagos Shuts Down Public, Private Schools

The Lagos State Government has directed that all public and private schools in the state should be closed effective from Monday, March 23, over Coronavirus (COVID-19) fears.

This is coming less than 24 hours after the state government announced the suspension of all religious gatherings of more than 50 persons in the state.

The new directive on closure of schools was announced in statement by the Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Folashade Adefisayo.

The state government said the move was necessary to prevent teachers and pupils from contracting the deadly disease.

The move came after Nigeria confirmed five new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, raising the country’s total number of confirmed cases to 8.

“As part of the preventive measures against the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Lagos State Government is closing down all public and private schools from Monday, 23rd March 2020,” said Adefisayo.

“The move becomes necessary to prevent our children and their teachers from getting more vulnerable to the pandemic.

“It is important for parents to ensure that their children practise ‘social distancing’ while at home, wash their hands regularly or use hand sanitizers and observe high standards of personal hygiene. Children should be encouraged to remain at home.

“The closure is not intended to create panic but to arrest the spread of the disease, which has become a global threat.

“The Incident Command Centre, headed by the Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who is the Incident Commander, will continue to trace all contacts of the identified cases.”