NIN: NIMC Shuts Down Lagos Office After Worker Contracted COVID-19

LAGOS headquarters of  the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has been shut down after one of its staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

The worker, who reportedly works in the customer care unit, tested positive for the virus on Monday.

According to a memo to workers of the agency, the Lagos office would be shut from Monday, August 16.

The memo said, “Good day #TeamLagos. This is to officially notify all members of staff of the temporary closure of the NIMC Lagos State Office, Alausa, from Monday, August 16 to Friday, August 20, 2021, to enable management to fumigate and sanitise the offices.

“Enrolment activities will resume on Monday, August 23, 2021. Meanwhile, ensure you observe all COVID-19 protocols in all the LGAs/ LCDAs. You will be notified by your state coordinators immediately we get receipt of PPEs from the HQ. Please stay safe.”

Following the Federal Government’s announcement of the integration of the National Identification Number and Subscriber Identity Module, making it mandatory for all phone users in the country to link up their SIM cards with NINs, NIMC offices nationwide have witnessed high visits since last year.

The closure of NIMC Lagos office, it was learnt, occurred amid the detection of the lethal Delta variant in Nigeria and the third wave of COVID-19 in the country.

The deadly Delta variant is recognised by the World Health Organisation as a variant of concern, given its increased transmissibility.

The variant has been detected in over 90 countries and is expected to spread to more countries, according to the NCDC.

So far, Nigeria has recorded over 177,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 2,100 associated deaths since the index case of the virus was reported in the country in March 2020, according to statistics by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.