After many appeal from stakeholders, the Lagos State Government has further eased restrictions on social Gatherings and event centres across the State.
The Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuff, and the Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola made the announcement on Friday in a press release.
Mojola stated that the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, after due consultation and deliberations with relevant stakeholders and Ministry, Department and Agencies, MDA’s including The Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Lagos State Safety Commission has approved the further easing of social centres across the State with immediate effect.
The press release also stipulated the new guidelines that must be adhered to by the social/event facilities before reopening.
“All event centres must hold a valid license of The Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture prior to operating as an event center in the State.
All event centres must be duly registered and verified on The Lagos State Safety Commission website www.lasgsafetyreg.com prior to holding any event.
An Event Safety Clearance must be obtained from the Lagos State Safety Commission through the website www.lasgsafetyreg.com for any proposed event or exhibition.
Safety Marshals shall be deployed by an accredited event safety consultant from Lagos State Safety Commission for every social event with attendance exceeding over 200 people” part of the guidelines read.
The guideline further directed that “occupancy limit at any event must not exceed 50% of the maximum design capacity of the hall, wherein Occupancy Limit stickers provided by the Lagos State Safety Commission must be boldly pasted at the entrance of the event hall.
The maximum allowable capacity for Event Centers irrespective of the occupancy limit is 500 people.
Deep cleaning must be carried out before and after every event.
Physical distancing shall be maintained between seated guests and a maximum number of seated guests should be 6 (six) people on a table of 10 (ten) persons.
Event duration should not exceed a maximum period of 6-hours.
All guests and service providers at the facility must wear a nose mask and make use of hand sanitizers
All guests and service providers must endeavor to wash their hands before entering the venue or in the alternative use hand sanitizers.
Temperature checks must be taken at all entry points into a facility” the guideline added.
Continuing, guests and service providers with temperatures (above 37.5) are to be politely turned back and referred to paramedics or the emergency response team on the ground.
Hand sanitizers must be positioned at the entry points and different spots within the hall.
All event centers must endeavor to display standard COVID-19 safety signs. The signs must be bold and installed at conspicuous locations.
Event center owners/ planners/vendors would be responsible for any breach of protocols by their staff” the statement concluded.
Omojola stated that any violation of this protocol shall attract fines and penalties in line with the Lagos State Infectious Diseases Control Regulation 2020.
Recall that Night Club Owners recently appealed to the Lagos State Government for the reopening of night clubs in the state.
Representatives of owners of night clubs in the State made this appeal when they visited the leadership of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture in Alausa, Ikeja to lament the inactivity in the sector since the lockdown was put in place last year to checkmate the spread of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Also, Akinwale Oluwaleimu, an event, entertainment consultant, and Chief Executive Officer of House 30 Lounge, Ikeja had made a similar appeal to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to consider reopening event centers in the state.
In a letter he addressed to the Lagos State Governor, he appealed for the government’s intervention and support for the entertainment and hospitality sectors.
“The entertainment and hospitality sectors are in dire need of government intervention and support as those two sectors are, arguably, the most hit by the pandemic, most especially because Lagos serves as the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria and probably West Africa and huge investment had been made by practitioners of this sectors and it’s been hell for them for about a year now” he had appealed.
