COVID-19: Lagos targets only locals for regatta, festival

In a bid to prevent the spread of the deadly and globally pandemic coronavirus disease, the Lagos state government on Tuesday, said it will restrict participation in the Greater Lagos Regatta and Festival earlier scheduled to hold during the Easter period to local tourists and fun lovers.

Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat AkinbiIe-Yusuf, who disclosed this at a press conference in Lagos, said it is part of measures to prevent the spread of the disease among tourists and entertainers who would be willing to participate at the event.

She added that the three- day event has been put on hold pending when the issue of the coronavirus ravaging the world generally subsides.

According to her, the state government is not cancelling the event, but would disallow participation from foreign countries in view of the negative posturing the COVID-19 is gaining globally.

The event is designed to espouse the tourism potentials of the state, celebrate the aquatic splendour of the state and market the Lagos brand to tourism investors across the world.

AkinbiIe-Yusuf said that “our intention is to market Lagos tourism to investors beyond the shores of this country. We want them to see and appreciate the rich cultural heritage and aquatic endowments of the state.

“While we are being restricted to limit participants for this event to tourists and fun lovers within Nigeria because we do not want to expose Nigerians to the raging coronavirus, we believe that a good media coverage can still help market the tourism potentials of Lagos state to the international audience.”

She said that the state government prioritises the well-being of its citizens and would not compromise the life of any resident of the state or organise an event without due consideration of the health implications of such event on the populace.

Speaking on the preparedness of the state government for the event, the commissioner stated that adequate measures are being put in place to guarantee the safety of participants at the event.

“We have concluded plans to provide a section where people can wash their hands, in addition to this, we are equally going to have enough provision for sanitizers to complement other precautionary measures that would still be put in place through our working relationship with the ministry of health,” she added.