COVID-19: Why Night Clubs, Bars Will Remain Closed – FG

The Federal Government through the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has said nightclubs and bars will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

This was made known by the PTF National Coordinator, Dr Sani Aliyu, during the PTF press briefing on Thursday in Abuja.

On why the continued closure of nightclubs and bars, while other activities have been reopened, Aliyu stated that the risks of reopening them are still high hence, their continued ban”.

Aliyu said, “I have nothing against nightclubs. I don’t see anything wrong with people going to bars and nightclubs, but the nature of the environment is an enclosed space, there are no windows, people are standing very close to each other. We are yet to have a mask that people can drink through without taking it off. So you are at a great risk of transmission.

“Globally, when the number starts surging look at the news, the first thing they say is that bars are closed. So that is why we are being careful, the national response that we have had in this country has been calibrated.

“We have looked at every single risk. Every decision taken has not been easy, there are negotiations, arguments and so on.

“But bars and nightclubs remain closed for very good reasons. At a point in time that we are very confident that we are at the right time to relax further, we will open up.

“So, for those who love nightclubs, please be a bit patient with us and be hopeful that things will get back to normal.”

Naija News reports that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Thursday reported one hundred and forty-eight new confirmed cases of Coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria.

The newly reported cases bring the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria to 60982 which includes 52194 discharged cases and 1,116 deaths.

The 148 new cases are reported from 14 states- Lagos (66), FCT (25), Oyo (13), Plateau (11), Kaduna (7), Rivers (6), Ebonyi (5), Ekiti (4), Ogun (4), Imo (2), Ondo (2), Edo (1), Nasarawa (1), Taraba (1)