COVID-19: Prepare for total shutdown in January- Wike

The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has stated that he would re-impose COVID-19 lockdown in the state beginning from January following the increasing rate of number of coronavirus cases in the state.

Wike made this known via a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, during the church thanksgiving service in celebration of the 90th birthday of Mrs Priscilla Nwanediye Mark, at the St. Martin’s Anglican Church, Omagwa in Ikwerre Local Government on Sunday.

Wike also noted that with the second wave of COVID-19, he would this week announce new stringent measures to check the spread of COVID-19 cases in the State,

He said: “When you go to some churches, they don’t wear a mask. Go to market, they don’t wear a mask. They believe COVID is not real. It’s not real because it has not happened to you; nobody had died whom you know. When somebody has died and the person was close to you, you will know that COVID is real.

“So, it is real and I want to appeal to all of you that we have to be more strict now because the second wave is more dangerous than the first wave. It’s very, very dangerous. I know how many people we have lost since the second wave started.”

Governor Wike urged the Bishop of Diocese of Ikwerre to prevail on members of all the churches under his jurisdiction to always wear their face mask.

“If you don’t comply, I have no choice, but to shut down the churches; Pentecostal, Catholic, Anglican. I have no choice because when you have it, who spends the money? It is the state that treats. So, we need to use the money for some other things, but not for this. Let us discipline ourselves and know that COVID-19 is real. Let nobody tell you that there is nothing like COVID. It’s real.”