Nasarawa govt evacuates 788 Almajiris to states of origin over COVID-19

The Nasarawa State government Sunday evacuated 788 Quranic education pupils (Almajiri) to their states of origin in a bid to check the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

In his address at the flag-off of the exercise in Lafia, Governor Abdullahi Sule said the decision to evacuate the pupils was taken by governors of the 19 northern states.

The move, according to the governor, was to ensure that the parents of the children took proper care of them.

He said the evacuation of the children would be done in phases starting with states not considered COVID-19 high-risk.

Sule said: “Most of them engage in street begging and are vulnerable to contracting the virus when they receive alms from persons whose status is positive.

READ ALSO: NASARAWA: House of Assembly member dies of COVID-19 infection

“Their teachers cannot keep them at home during this lockdown as they lack the capacity to feed the pupils under them. The children were given some stipends to buy some food while on transit.”

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