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60 Project Workers on the Lagos-Ibadan Railway Site Infected With COVID-19 – Amaechi

The Federal Ministry of Transportation has revealed that about 60 workers on the Lagos-Ibadan railway project site have tested positive for COVID-19 in the process of trying to complete the project.

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday, noting also that the inauguration of the rail project would be put on hold due to the spike in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country.

Amaechi said although none of the 60 workers had lost their live to the virus, it was necessary to postpone the scheduled January 2021 inauguration date for the facility.

He said, “First let us admit that over 60 of our staff, not Ministry of Transportation staff, but the staff working on the rail project, have been infected by COVID-19.

“Luckily nobody has died and I pray nobody will die, but you see the kind of sacrifice everybody is making to get the rail to function.

“There are people sacrificing their lives to get to that point. We are of the view when we made that decision that Nigerians will not say 2020 was a bad year.

“As far as we are concerned, we need to learn how to live with COVID-19 and I really want to congratulate those who achieved that feat.”

The transportation Minister added that the inauguration of the project would depend on how the second wave of the pandemic is managed in Nigeria, and that the federal government would not give room for further spread of the virus.

“We were to inaugurate (the railway project) in the first week of January. We had to stop those doing minor completion work because of the rise in COVID-19 transmission.

“The timeline for inauguration will depend on COVID. If COVID stops today or reduces we will inaugurate the project,” he said.

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