Nigeria: Christmas ceremony canceled over coronavirus

ANKARA (AA) - Nigeria’s president has cancelled the annual official Christmas ceremony for this year as the country fights off the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the presidency announced on Thursday.

“In line with the prevailing protocol put in place by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, restricting large gatherings, President Muhammadu Buhari will not be hosting the usual Christmas homage by religious and community leaders in the Federal Capital Territory,” spokesman Garba Shehu tweeted on Thursday.

Buhari also urged the public to comply with COVID-19 preventive measures during the holiday season.

“The President urges all citizens to, in line with the prescribed protocol, observe social distancing, use face masks, wash hands frequently and avoid overcrowding of public spaces, markets, shopping centres, offices and places of worship,” Shehu wrote.

The Nigerian president also discouraged non-essential travels during the holiday season, sending his wishes for a “happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year ahead,” according to Shehu.

Since the virus was first reported in March, Nigerian health authorities have confirmed 1,236 COVID-19-related deaths, 80,922 infections, and 69,274 recoveries in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, according to figures from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

As the country has been witnessing a second wave of the pandemic, a spike in the number of infections has been seen in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, leaving five killed and 1,133 infected on Wednesday alone, according to the center’s most recent update.

The coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, China last December before spreading to all seven continents. More than 78.8 million people have been infected while over 1.73 million have died, according to the US’ Johns Hopkins University.