The Plateau government has issued restrictions on interstate movement of vehicles on essential services, to operate only from 7a.m to 6p.m.
He said the directive from the chairman of the State COVID -19 Taskforce, Gov. Simon Lalong, was part of government efforts to control movement of persons into the state.
He said the move was also to enable the conduct of thorough inspection of vehicles and medical examination for the essential workers entering the state.
He said the action was also to checkmate persons who camouflaged as essential services workers to enter into the state against government directives, thus increasing risk of spreading COVID-19.
“Once it is 6p.m, borders would be closed for workers on essential services, this is because at that time the medical team have closed
“So they will spend the night at the border until the team arrive by 7a.m the next day, to conduct medical examination for them,” he said.
The government official expressed concern on the unauthorised use of security passes in the state, saying the state had invalidated use of all passes issued and would issue new ones to qualified persons on Thursday to checkmate the practice.
He further explained that the passes would be time bound and would be updated periodically.
He said that the persons arrested at the state borders would be quarantined for 14 days and would also be tested for COVID-19 .
He said the state had so far evacuated 709 Quaranic students (Almagiri) to their home states and had received 99 from Nasarawa State and 46 from Kaduna.
He said the students were being quarantined for 14 days and would be tested for COVID-19, before being released to their families, adding that more were being conveyed to the state.
He said the state had 387 persons in its two quarantine centres saying that many who tested negative to COVID 19 had been released while more persons were also being admitted there.
Speaking also, the commissioner for Health, Dr Nimkong Ndam, said that the state on Tuesday conducted tests on 127 persons, mostly Quaranic students (Almagiri), whose results were being awaited.
He said contact tracing of the new case recorded in the state, had immediately began to control community transmission.
Ndam said that with the new figure, the state now had four confirmed cases adding that more than 650 persons had been tested for COVID-19 so far.
