The Abia State Government says from Wednesday, April 1, there will be a full lockdown of the land borders to stop inter-state movement and the opening markets for an initial period of four weeks.
A statement issued by the State Inter-ministerial Committee on COVID-19 noted that within the period, residents are expected to stay-at-home with only food sellers allowed to operate in front of their houses.
To this end, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu approved the setting up of a Food Security Sub-committee to plan necessary palliative interventions incase of a prolonged lockdown.
The statement further noted that on the basis of the directives of the Governor, the Ministry of Finance has commenced the payment of salaries of civil servants, with 50 ministries, departments and agencies already paid as at Friday, while others including pensioners will be concluded by Monday, next week.
Meanwhile, a Protocol Sub-committee has been set up to review and domesticate the World Health Organisation, WHO, and Nigeria Centre for Disease and Control protocol, on response and management of any disease outbreak.