The Federal Government has warned it would shut down the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp in States that fail to comply with stipulated COVID-19 protocols designed to curtail the spread of the virus.
The Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, gave the indication during the Presidential Task Force (PTF) briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja.
Dare, who is touring NYSC camps across the country, said it is an effort to ensure strict compliance to the COVID-19 guidelines, so the youths would not be endangered.
He said: “It has become necessary that all safety protocols be adhered to, any orientation camp that is not obeying the protocol will simply be closed as the NYSC cannot afford to risk the lives and health of the Corps members.”
Dare recalled that before orientation camps were reopened in November 2020, meetings were held during which the safety guidelines were arrived at.
“The government will not hesitate to shut down orientation camps in states where the safety guidelines and protocols are not being adhered to.
“Corps members from such states will be moved to adjoining states. We however wish that we will not get to that stage,” the minister said.
It would be recalled PTF had conducted the testing of batch B Corps members using RDTs and out of the 35,419 in Batch B, 731 tested positive compared to 108 recorded during Batch A.
Results also showed 765 members of the current stream of Corps members out of the over 22,000 cases tested were confirmed positive, while 731 members of Batch B Corps members tested positive for COVID-19.
Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has threatened that the government will not hesitate to shut down orientation camps of the National Youth Service Corps in any state where the guidelines designed to curtail the spread of COVID-19 are being flouted.
He however said his visits to camps across the country so far showed that the guidelines were being adhered to.
Dare recalled that before orientation camps were reopened in November 2020, meetings were held during which the safety guidelines were arrived at.
“The government will not hesitate to shut down orientation camps in states where the safety guidelines and protocols are not being adhered to.
“Corps members from such states will be moved to adjoining states. We however wish that we will not get to that stage,” the minister said.
