Following the uproar by Nigerians over the flagrant disregard for social distancing guidelines put in place to curb the spread of Coronavirus in the country during the burial of Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari, on Saturday, the Federal Capital Territory Administration has apologised and promised to abide by guidelines in future burials of victims of the virus.
At the burial of Kyari, mourners and medical personnel in large number threw caution to the wind by having close physical contact.
While most of the attendees at the burial did not wear face masks, they also disregarded the social distancing rule.
The actions of participants at the burial led to an uproar on social media with many calling for their arrest, claiming that they could have been exposed to the virus.
FLASH: Social Distancing Violated As Abba Kyari Is Buried In Abuja pic.twitter.com/5KRhGt77XH
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) April 18, 2020
In a statement, Dr Mohammed Kawu, Acting Secretary, Health and Human Services Secretariat, FCTA, urged Nigerians to remain calm, adding that the FCT Administration would move to curb actions that could lead to further spread of the virus.
He stated that future burials would be done in line with guidelines of NCDC.
He said, “The administration has also taken steps to ensure that all future burials of victims of COVID-19 are conducted in line with protocols established by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
“Residents are therefore urged to remain calm and rest assured that the FCT Administration will continue to do all that is necessary to curtail and eventually end the spread of Coronavirus in the FCT,” Kawu said.
SaharaReporters had revealed that Kyari died of complications from COVID-19 on Thursday but his death was announced to the public on Friday.
He died at a private hospital in Lagos, First Cardiology Consultants, where he was secretly treated before his demise.
Nigeria has so far recorded 493 confirmed cases of Coronavirus with 17 deaths.
