LAGOS, July 31 (Xinhua) -- A Nigerian official leading the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country has urged political parties and electoral commission to ensure strict compliance with all COVID-19 protocols while conducting their events.
Boss Mustapha, the chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee(PSC) on COVID-19, warned that mass gatherings served as super-spreader events for the propagation of COVID-19 infection in communities.
Mustapha's call followed the recent local government elections in some states in recent weeks, witnessing mass gatherings of people who were electing their local government chairmen and councilors.
Health authorities of the country have also confirmed at least 10 cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19 since early July and the rising number of infections across the country.
Mustapha, who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), urged all political parties to institute public health and social measures in all locations where political events will occur.
He said persons without face masks should not be allowed access to the venues, noting that hand hygiene facilities including soap and water/hand sanitizers should be made available for people before gaining access to the venues.
"Enclosed venues should be adequately ventilated and must not exceed 50 percent of venue capacity," said Mustapha.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, has been recording rising daily cases of coronavirus infection.
According to the latest data from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, the country has seen increment in weekly new confirmed cases for five weeks in a row since July 21, with new cases in the week from July 19 to July 25 increasing to 1,579 from 966 reported in the previous week. Enditem