By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Even as England on Monday reported no new deaths from Covid-19 for the time since last March, a positive milestone that comes as the country continues to ease long-lasting lockdown restrictions, the federal government on the same day reintroduced the restriction on mass gatherings after a spike in COVID-19 cases recorded in some countries.
Public Health England (PHE) figures for March 28 showed no deaths had been registered of patients within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test.
During a spike in cases during January, more than 200 deaths a day linked to the virus were recorded in the English capital.
London, the epicentre of the first wave of the pandemic last year, accounts for 12% of all UK coronavirus deaths.
In Nigeria, the presidential steering committee on COVID-19 said the restriction was effective from Tuesday.
Mukhtar Mohammed, the committee’s national incident manager who announced the measures, said event centres and non-essential public places such as night clubs will remain closed till further notice.
Religious gatherings and social events such as weddings would hold only with 50 per cent of maximum capacity while official engagements and meetings are to continue to hold virtually.
The committee directed security personnel to enforce the adherence to the measures as well as others that have been in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The step comes amid concerns over the surge in infections and resultant deaths recorded in some countries particularly Brazil, India and Turkey.
The federal government had earlier announced that foreigners who recently visited the three countries will no longer be allowed to enter Nigeria.
It also reduced the validity period of the pre-boarding COVID-19 PCR test for all Nigeria-bound passengers from 96 to 72 hours.
In India, which has been the worst hit in recent weeks, 366,161 new infections and 3,754 deaths were reported on Monday, taking the country’s tally to 22.66 million with 246,116 deaths as hospitals remain overwhelmed.
