The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, has developed new guidelines for places of worship to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

The NCDC said the development of the new guidelines was to ensure safe gatherings and prevent exposures to COVID-19 infection in religious settings.

Recall that on June 2, 2020, the Presidential Task Force, PTF, on COVID-19 announced the relaxation of the previous ban placed on worship centres.

By this, churches, mosques and other religious groups are allowed to reopen their places of worship while adhering to public health and social measures.

This was contained in a statement released by the NCDC media team.

The NCDC new guidelines are:

“There should be no entry without facemasks. All attendees and religious leaders must wear a face mask

“People who are sick should not go to places of worship. There should be temperature screening on entry

“Hand washing facilities and hand sanitizers should be provided at point of entries and strategic points

“Attendance at religious settings should not exceed 1/3 of sitting capacity

“Religious centres should be clearly marked such that people sit and maintain two metres distance from each other

“There should be no form of direct contact. Practices such as handshakes as peace signs are discouraged

“Practices that require sharing of materials should be limited. For example, ablution should be performed at home.”

The Centre advised worship centres to disinfect routinely, before and after services.

NCDC said as vaccines are yet undiscovered, the country must depend on public health, social measures and supportive management of confirmed cases.