Coronavirus; Ebonyi bans social gathering for 1 month

Ebonyi state Government has banned the conduct of burials, weddings and conferences for the next one month and ordered security agencies to arrest defaulters.

The Governor who was represented by his Deputy, Dr Eric Kelechi Igwe gave the order while addressing traditional rulers, Executive Council members, prominent stakeholders in a town hall meeting that took place at the Akanu- Ibiam international conference centre, Abakaliki, Ebonyi state Capital.

The governor, governor explained that the decision to ban all burials, weddings and other social gathering within one month was reached after a wide consultation on how to curtail the spread of coronavirus in the state.

According to him: "there will be testing of people in the markets and the public gathering by health practitioners. Our leaders and traditional rulers should inform their people to cooperate with them.

"They should not resist them when ever they come to test them at the markets. Again the local government council chairmen are to post the health workers to the markets to work closely with the medical term of the Medial Director of the Alex Ekweme Federal Teaching Hospital, Dr. Emeka Onwe Ogah.

"It is the desire of Ebonyi state government to provide comforts for everybody in Ebonyi state. But for the nature of this Coronavirus which spread by contacts especially in public social gathering.

"Ebonyi state government has resolved henceforth that there shall be no more burials, and there shall be no weddings, conferences and other laud social gathering in the land of Ebonyi for a period of one months for the main time with effects from yesterday.

"Sometimes when you conduct a burial, some of the people that attends this burial comes from lagos, Abuja and all over the country that are heavily infected with this virus and you can't stop them from attending the burials" he said.

Umahi however, tasked all monarchs in the state not to show mercy or empathy to any person that is presumed to have the symptoms of coronavirus in their kingdoms.

He warned that any one who disobeys the directive or allows people that has the virus to come in contact with them with the purpose of spreading the virus, are enemy of the state government led by Chief David Umahi.