The Lagos State Government has clarified its position on reopening of event centres, explaining that owners of such places across the State must register their facilities pending issuance of further directives by Governor Sanwo-Olu in respect of their operations.

The Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat AkinbiIe-Yusuf, who made the clarification following media reports that owners of event centres could now open for operations, maintained that all event centres and cinemas are to remain shut for now.

She explained that the State government is yet to make any declaration on the date for reopening the event centres, adding that the Governor will make a pronouncement provided that the event centres have met all laid down procedures, including registering under the ‘Register-To-Open’ initiative of the State Government.

The Commissioner noted that the initiative was designed to certify the safety preparedness of various business outfits, including event centres before they are allowed to re-open for business activities.

Speaking on the limited number of persons that would be allowed to gather at the various event centres, Akinbile-Yusuf projected that a maximum capacity of one-fifth the capacity of each event centre, subject to a limit of 500 persons regardless of the size of the Centre, would be allowed when such businesses are finally allowed to reopen.

She said “The numbers of persons that would be allowed at any event centre will depend on the size of the event hall and this must not exceed one-fifth of the normal occupancy level of each venue. In other words, no matter the size of an event hall, it cannot accommodate more than 500 persons at a time, that is what the guideline says”.

“We have global guidelines that deal with both social and religious centres but we have specific ones for certain categories”, Akinbile-Yusuf added.

She informed that the status quo of only take-away for restaurants and eateries remains, stressing that their operations must not contradict stipulated operational guidelines issued during the Statewide lockdown period.

“Only hotels and restaurants are allowed to open for business activities for now in the entire hospitality industry while others should continue with their registration processes ahead of further directives from the Incident Commander of the State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu”, the Commissioner said.