Nigeria president Muhammadu Buhari has signed an executive order mandating the use of face mask in public places. Penalties for defaulters include six months jail term, a fine, or both.
The document, section 5 of the quarantine act was signed on Tuesday.
The coronavirus disease health protection 2021 act, makes the use of face mask mandatory in public places.
On Wednesday, Nigeria recorded its second highest daily death toll from COVID-19, as infections continue to surge. At least 22 deaths were confirmed, and nearly nineteen hundred new cases which brought total fatalities to 1,544.
The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC says a sharp increase in new coronavirus cases has now raised the total number of infections in the country to 126,160.
The Executive order became necessary as Part 1 which, deals with restrictions on gatherings, stipulates that at all gatherings, a physical distance of at least two metres shall be maintained at all times between persons.
The document also adds, “notwithstanding the provision of regulation 1, no gathering of more than 50 persons shall hold in an enclosed space, except for religious purposes, in which case the gathering shall not exceed 50% capacity of the space.
“All persons in public gatherings, whether in enclosed or open spaces, shall adhere to the provisions of part 2 of these regulations.
“The provisions of these regulations may be varied by guidelines and protocols as may be issued, from time to time, by the presidential task force on COVID-19 on the recommendation of the nigeria centre for disease control.”
Part 2 of the regulation stipulates that no person shall be allowed within the premises of a market, mall, supermarket, shop, restaurants, hotels, event centres, gardens, leisure parks, recreation centres, motor parks, fitness centre or any other similar establishment “except he is wearing a face covering that covers the nose and mouth; he washes his hands or cleaned the hands using hand sanitiser approved by the national agency for food and drug administration and control; and his body temperature has been checked. Any person found to have a body temperature above 38 degrees celsius shall be denied entry and advised to immediately seek medical attention.”