Rivers State Government has ordered all markets to reopen for business between 7am to 6pm daily from Tuesday.
Governor Nyesom Wike, who gave the directive in a statewide broadcast, however, said Rumukwurushe (Oil Mill) and Oginiba Slaughter Markets should remain closed.
He said the markets must operate in strict compliance with the established protocols on wearing of face masks, washing of hands and maintaining social distancing.
The Governor said government lifted the ban placed on markets to increase the tempo of economic activities in the State.
The Governor, in a statement by Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, said with the available data on COVID-19 cases, the measures put in place by the State Government were impacting positively on the efforts to control the spread of the virus.
He said even though the state presently stood as the fifth most impacted states in the country, there was a steady drop in the number of new positive cases within the last seven weeks.