COVID-19 Violations: Lagos State Safety Commission Seals Bars, Night Clubs For Flouting Protocols.

The Lagos State Safety Commission has sealed some lounges, bars, spas, and night clubs for flouting the government’s directives on the closure of social clubs in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state.

The Director-General of the Commission, Lanre Mojola, disclosed this on Monday while giving an update on the recent exercise carried out by the agency’s Compliance and Enforcement teams.

He listed the areas to include Lagos Island, Surulere, and Abule-Egba among others, stressing that the government has zero-tolerance for breach of safety precautionary measures and would not condone flagrant disobedience of its directives.

“Mass gathering of people in social clubs, spas, bars, betting and gaming centres, negates the safety guidelines,” the agency’s chief said.

He added, “Our preliminary investigations revealed that some bars and night clubs are not complying with safety guidelines and closure directive issued by the state government.”

Mojola stated that the Commission has started issuing provisional safety compliance certificates to social clubs that have registered and have had their facilities verified for re-opening.

He, therefore, urged other social centres that have yet to register for the “Open Initiative” policy to do so, stressing that the facilities that have already been issued certificates were still not allowed to open until stipulated guidelines and pronouncements were made by the governor.

The agency’s chief said registration and verification were free and user-friendly and appealed to business owners to support the government by complying with all safety guidelines and protocols as part of efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus in the state.