The Kano governor also told residents to be prepared to make sacrifices to ensure the virus does not spread.

“Members of the public should know that, business is not as usual. Movement must be restricted. Tricycle operators must take only one passenger,” Mr Ganduje said.

Kano is one of the states in Nigeria that has not enforced movement restrictions or limited public gatherings.

On Friday, congregational Jumat prayers held in most mosques while markets are still open as usual.

Mr Ganduje, however, said his administration was consulting on its next steps.

“Meetings with Islamic scholars and market leaders are holding soonest, before any decisions are reached,” he said.

“We must take measures that are absolutely necessary, however, hard they appeared to be,” he added. “It is better to bear with hard measures than to just go and die. It is, therefore, necessary for all to know that, social distancing and all other medical advice are absolutely necessary, Premium Times reports.