The Lagos State Government said it had not ordered the lockdown of the state over the spread of coronavirus.

The state, in a statement by its Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, noted that some media outlets had reported that the state was on lockdown.

Omotoso noted that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had only introduced stringent measures to curtail the spread of coronavirus and urged private establishments to introduce measures that would support the government’s effort.

He said, “The attention of the Lagos State Government has been drawn to news reports that Lagos is on lockdown following Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s update on the steps taken to curtail the spread of coronavirus.

“The impression created by such reports is erroneous; Mr Governor, who is the incident commander, only urged private sector establishments to introduce measures that will support the government’s efforts at curtailing the spread of COVID-19.

“Governor Sanwo-Olu suggested that banks should enhance their online banking services to enable their customers have transactions without visiting banking halls and all markets that are not selling food, pharmaceutical products, water, medical equipment and other essential materials are to close down.

“Workers providing essential services – fire service, emergency, health, water, telecommunication, security, media and others are exempted from this directive and the initiatives being introduced by the government are to prevent any situation where more than 25 persons will gather in the same place at any time.”