Just In: Lagos Govt Eases Restrictions On Social Gatherings, Event Centres; Sets New Occupancy Limit
Lagos State Government has on Friday, April 9 announced the ease of restrictions on social gatherings and event centres across the state.
It would be recalled that back in December 2020, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, reimposed COVID-19 restriction orders in the state amid reports of second wave of the virus in the country.
He also ordered the ban of concerts, carnivals, street parties, night clubs until further notice.
Governor Sanwo-Olu expressed that the protocol of ‘No Mask No Entry’ must be enforced by all public places like offices, businesses, markets and shops.
The new development was contained in a press statement titled ‘Lagos State Government eases restrictions on social and event centres’, on Friday, April 9.
The statement was signed by Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile Yusuff, and the Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola.
While stating that COVID-19 protocols must be complied with, the officials said “any violation of this protocol shall attract fines and penalties in line with the Lagos State Infectious Diseases Control Regulation 2020”.
Some of the guidelines stated that event centres must register before reopening and event duration should not exceed a maximum period of six hours.
In the new guidelines, the state government pegged the occupancy limit for event centres at 500 while social events can now have up to 200 people at a time.
The guidelines read in part;
All event centres must hold a valid license of The Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture prior to operating as an event centre in the State. All event centres must be duly registered and verified on The Lagos State Safety Commission website www.lasgsafetyreg.com prior to holding any event.
An Event Safety Clearance must be obtained from the Lagos State Safety Commission through the website www.lasgsafetyreg.com for any proposed event or exhibition.
Safety Marshals shall be deployed by an accredited event safety consultant from Lagos State Safety Commission for every social event with attendance exceeding over 200 people.
It stressed;
Occupancy limit at any event must not exceed 50% of the maximum design capacity of the hall, wherein Occupancy Limit stickers provided by the Lagos State Safety Commission must be boldly pasted at the entrance of the event hall.
Maximum allowable capacity for Event Centres irrespective of occupancy limit is 500 people. Deep cleaning must be carried out before and after every event.
Physical distancing shall be maintained between seated guests and a maximum number of seated guests should be 6 (six) people on a table of 10 persons.
The statement added;
Event duration should not exceed a maximum period of 6-hours. All guests and service providers at the facility must wear a nose mask and make use of hand sanitizers
All guests and service providers must endeavour to wash their hands before entering the venue or in the alternative use hand sanitizers. Temperature checks must be taken at all entry points into a facility.
Guests and service providers with temperature (above 37.5) are to be politely turned back and referred to paramedics or the emergency response team on ground. Hand sanitizers must be positioned at the entry points and different spots within the hall.
All event centres must endeavour to display standard COVID-19 safety signs. The signs must be bold and installed at conspicuous locations. Event centre owners/ planners/vendors would be responsible for any breach of protocols by their staff.
Meanwhile, as at Thursday, Lagos state had 57,900 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 56990 discharged patients and 439 deaths.
