Six-month jail for COVID-19 protocol violators signed into law

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed a new law prescribing six-month jail term for persons convicted for disobeying any COVID-19 guideline.

The COVID-19 health protection regulations 2021 was signed in Abuja on Wednesday.

The legal instrument provides a basis for the prosecution of defaulters.

As provided in the Quarantine Act, Section 34 of the new law states that any offence under the regulations is punishable by a fine or a term of six months imprisonment or both.

The law provides for the maintenance of physical distance in gatherings, while all persons in such public places must, among other things, wear face masks, wash their hands and have their temperature checked before entering such venues.

It also restricts gathering of more than 50 persons in an enclosed space “except for religious purposes, in which case the gathering shall not exceed 50 per cent capacity of the space.”

It further mandates institutions such as schools, banks and worship centres to enforce existing guidelines to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

In addition to tagging the disobedience of any of the protocol as an offence, the law also states that anyone who obstructs an authorised official from enforcement of the regulations commits same.