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Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje on Saturday announced the relaxation of the lockdown order imposed on the state by President Muhammadu Buhari.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on Monday ordered a total lockdown in Kano for 14 days as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in the state.
But speaking at a press briefing on Saturday, Ganduje said the lockdown would be relaxed on Mondays and Thursdays between 10am and 4pm.
He, however,ordered the compulsory use of face mask for commuters going out on those days.
Ganduje explained that the decision to relax the lockdown was taken in consultation with the federal government to ease the hardship residents are facing.
The governor noted that markets would not be allowed to open except supermarkets, adding that the list of the supermarkets would be announced on local radio stations. He added that only Yankaba market where perishable items are sold and Yan Lemo market would be allowed to operate on the free days.
He also warned traders against inflating prices of commodities, saying the state anti-corruption agency is on track to confiscate goods and persons found taken undue advantage of the people.
The governor stated that the upsurge in the positive cases of COVID -19 in the state was due to the availability of two functioning testing centres in Kano.
He said Aliko Dangote has promised to donate Mobile Test Centres with the capacity to test 400 samples per day to the state.
Earlier, the Chairman of the State Taskforce on COVID-19 and Deputy Governor, Nasiru Yusuf Gawna announced the conversion of four state-owned facilities to isolation centres, to accommodate increasing number of positive cases.
Those facilities include Kano state Library, State Hospitality Institute, Karfi Sport Institute and Abubakar Imam Centre.