The Federal Government has lifted a nationwide midnight curfew and limitations on gatherings necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government also cancelled other restrictions that came along with the anti-COVID-19 measures imposed in March 2020 to curb the spread of virus.
A hint of this decision was given last week by the Head of the Technical Secretariat on COVID-19, Dr Muktar Muhammed who announced that wearing of face masks in public places was no longer mandatory.
He hinted that further measures to relax the restrictions were expected after the impending Easter holidays which will end by 18th April.
As at the last count on Tuesday, Nigeria had 2,700 active COVID-19 cases out of a total of 255,516 cases recorded since the index case was reported on 27th February 2020.
In all, 3,142 deaths were recorded, but a zero situation had repeatedly featured on the fatality figure since 18th February.
Indeed, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has stopped given daily reports. These details now come twice a week and many states have consistently reported a no case situation.
‘The removal of restrictions was decided in view of the declining number of cases, reduced risk of importation of new variants as well as the availability of vaccines’, a statement by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 said.
‘The nationwide curfew imposed from midnight to 04:00 am has been lifted, and an advisory limiting Nigerians to essential travels only has been lifted’, it further said.
The midnight curfew was enforced when it was first introduced, but in the capital Abuja and the main commercial city of Lagos it was mostly ignored since the beginning of last year.
The government said private companies should continue implementing measures to limit the spread of the virus at work.
Civil servants should go back to their offices, the government added, where they are recommended to show proof of vaccination or a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test of not more than 48 hours.
