Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State has directed the immediate closure of all markets, shops and other related public gatherings in the state.
The governor gave the directives while addressing the people of the state on the update of the coronavirus pandemic.
He said the directive to close down markets and shops in the state takes effect from April 1, 2020.
The speech of the governor was read by his deputy, Haruna Manu, at government house on Tuesday.
Ishaku said so far, no case of COVID-19 has been reported in the state.
He said only shops that offer essential services such as food stores, medical shops and petrol service stations will be allowed to operate.
He, therefore, cautioned the essential services providers not to use the opportunity to hike the price of their products and services.
He reiterated that robust and proactive measures have already been put in place to contain the spread of the virus to any part of the state.
The governor said two Isolation Centers have been established, one at Federal Medical Center Jalingo while another is at Specialist Hospital Jalingo, to ensure that any outbreak is well handled.
“I, therefore, urge Tarabans to cooperate and adopt simple universal, acceptable, hygienic protocol such as no handshakes, no hugging, regular washing of hands, use of sanitizers and maintaining social distancing, among other similar measures.”
He maintained that the ban on public gathering of not more than 20 persons was still in place to safeguard the lives of all citizens in the state.
The governor, therefore, called on the security agencies in the state to fully implement the closure of all the interstate borders to restrict movement into the state.
“By this address, I am reiterating the earlier directives that the police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps must enforce strict compliance to this executive order.”
He advised the people of the state not to panic but adhere to government instructions to maintain safety.
