Gov. Ayade Orders Civil Servants Back to Work, Prohibits Face Mask Not Made in the State

The Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade has ordered civil servants from grade 10 back to work from Tuesday, 14th April, 2020.

This was made known by the Governor’s spokesperson, Mr Christian Ita in a statement made available to the press on Saturday.

The Governor also prohibited indigenes from wearing a mask not made in the State and directed that masks should not be sold but distributed by the Cross River Garment Factory.

The ‘no mask, no movement’ policy of the state government is still in force and applicable to the civil servants, the statement said, adding that “all returning civil servants are to receive nose masks from the COVID-19 Response Task Force through their respective permanent secretaries”.

The statement said that while mass gatherings of all kinds such as worships, weddings, burials remain prohibited, residents would be allowed into public places such as markets, malls, sports, and banks if they use appropriate mask.

“All nose masks to be used in the state must be locally made, with the place of origin clearly marked. The sale of masks made by the Cross River State Garment Factory is prohibited. Masks are to be distributed free of charge,” the statement said.

Cross River is among the 17 states of the country with no record of coronavirus. Governor Ayade recently stirred controversy by saying people with face mask need not practice social distancing as they are already protected from contacting the coronavirus.