Coronavirus: Lagos govt to shut down schools from Monday

Lagos State government said it is closing down all public and private schools in the state from Monday, 23rd March 2020 as part of the preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, disclosed closure of schools in a statement made available to newsmen late evening on Wednesday.

It would be recalled that her counterpart in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Prince Anofiu Elegushi, had announced through the communique issued at the end of a parley with religious leaders in the state a ban of religious gathering above 50 worshipers, saying it was part of measures to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

According to Adefisayo, the move by the State Ministry of Education to close schools becomes necessary to prevent children and their teachers from getting more vulnerable to the pandemic.

She said it was 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, adding that children should be encouraged to remain at home.

“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 commissioner said.

Speaking further, Adefisayo said the closure of schools was not intended to create panic but to arrest the spread of the disease, which had become a global threat, even as she assured that the Incident Command Centre, headed by the Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, would continue to trace all contacts of the identified cases and encourage anyone who had information about suspected cases to report to the nearest hospital or call the emergency telephone numbers.

She gave the numbers as follows: 08023169485, 08033565529, 08052817243 and 08023401214.

Source