Lagos State has introduced more preventive measures to break the cycle of transmission of the novel coronavirus among residents.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Sunday, directed the State’s civil servants from Grade Level 1 to 12 to stay off office for 14 days.

They are to work from their homes, Sanwo-Olu said at a news briefing held at Lagos House in Marina.

The latest directive came two days after the State Government shut down schools and suspended public gatherings of more than fifty persons.

The measure followed confirmation of additional coronavirus cases across the nation on Sunday, with three more confirmed in Lagos.

Sanwo-Olu said the stay-at-home directive did not affect the civil servants on essential duties and first responders whose levels fall in the cadres.

He said: “I am hereby directing that all public officers in the entire unified public service from Grade Level 1 to 12, which constitute about 70 per cent of our entire public workforce should stay at home from March 23, 2020 and this will last for 14 days in the first instance.

The Governor pleaded with private companies across the State to employ similar measures in curtailing the spread of the virus, urging them to allow non-essential staff to stay off duties for the same period.

He said government was not unaware of the economic impact that had attended the outbreak of COVID-19 in the State, promising that his administration was ready to cushion the effects on the vulnerable residents.

Sanwo-Olu, however, frowned at non-compliance to social distancing order by some organisations, including religious houses, stressing that disobedience to the Government’s measures may aggravate the spread of the virus.

The Governor said law enforcement agencies would be embarking actions that would drive strict compliance to measures initiated by the State to protect members of the public.

Sanwo-Olu re-assured residents that there was no cause for panic, saying his administration remained fully prepared to work with the Federal Government and international healthcare agencies in containing the spread of disease in Lagos.

He said the treatment and eventual discharge of the index COVID-19 patient from Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) in Yaba was a testimony to the commitment by the State Government to break the cycle of transmission of the virus.

As part of proactive steps being taken in the case of escalation in number of patients, Sanwo-Olu said the State Government had identified locations across five traditional divisions in Lagos to build isolation centres where patients can be treated.

He disclosed that other secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities in the State would be deployed to support the capacity of IDH in Yaba, adding that the Government had started to set up isolation centre in Gbagada General Hospital.