LAGOS – After accessing the recent rise in the spread of coronavirus among health workers in the country, Governors of the 36 States of the federation have agreed to impose a 14-day lockdown in their states in order to flatten the curve of coronavirus in the country.

The governors agreed to impose the lockdown after their colleagues from Lagos, Bauchi, Oyo, and Ogun States briefed and shared experience from the fight against COVID-19 with their colleagues and how the implementation of an inter-State lockdown would help mitigate coronavirus spread from State to State.

Operating under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), the state governors’ approval was contained in a communique issued by the NGF chairman and governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, at the end of the sixth COVID-19 teleconference meeting said only essential services would be permitted.

While appealing for decentralization of the COVID-19 response to curtail community transmission of the virus, members of the NGF further resolved to work with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to ensure health workers get personal protective equipment (PPE) and trained on the use of protective gears.

Governors also resolved to set up COVID-19 committees at the regional level, headed by their State Commissioners of Health in order to strengthen coordinated implementation of necessary public health recommendations across States.

Regional committees, the communique added, will continue to interface with the State Task Force Committees on COVID-19 already established in each State.

Fayemi briefed the forum on the rapidly evolving situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and coordination efforts with the federal government, multilateral and bilateral partners, and the private sector through the Coalition against COVID-19 (CACOVID).

The NGF, however, congratulated the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, who after nearly four weeks of testing positive and observing a very strict medical regime, has now received two consecutive negative test results for the coronavirus.

The forum, however, held a minute’s silence in honour of all Nigerians including Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, who have died since the virus broke out in the country, and condole with President Muhammadu Buhari and the people of Borno State over the CoS death

It would be recalled that President Buhari currently imposed lockdown in only the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun States to halt the spread of the novel pandemic coronavirus.