The Federal Government, through the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on Covid-19, has announced the extension of the ban on flights from Brazil, Turkey and India by 4 weeks.
This follows the Federal Government’s review of the earlier ban on flights from these countries and the decision for extension of the restriction in order to help stop the possible importation of different and dangerous variants of the Covid-19 pandemic that are still prevalent in these countries.
This disclosure was made by the Chairman of PSC on Covid-19, who also doubles as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, at the national briefing of the committee on Monday in Abuja, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
What the Chairman of PSC on Covid-19 is saying
Mustapha, while speaking, said, “A few weeks ago, we announced additional measures to be met by passengers arriving from Brazil, Turkey and India. This action was due to the prevalence of variants of concern and the dangers associated with the importation of such virulent strains.”
The Chairman of PSC said the committee has been reviewing these restrictions and is of the opinion that they should remain for another 4Â weeks before it is further reviewed adding that South Africa has once more been added to this category.
Mustapha revealed that South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda, Namibia and Uganda were being monitored as the Covid-19 cases were increasing there.
“In addition to these three countries, the PSC has also shifted its focus on some African countries. South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda, Namibia and Uganda fall in this category.
South Africa for example, recorded over 100,000 cases in the last one week while 20,000 was recorded in the last 24 hours. The four major variants of concern are now classified as Alpha (UK), Beta (SA); Gamma (Brazil) and Delta (India).
The Delta variant which has wreaked devastating havoc is not yet found in Nigeria hence the need to tighten our borders and be more vigilant,” he said.
He also disclosed that inbound passengers to Nigeria, who were barred for a period of 6 months, following the violation of the Covid-19 protocols have been making appeals to the Federal Government.
In case you missed it
It can be recalled that earlier on in May 2020, the Federal Government announced that it will bar passengers who have visited India, Brazil and Turkey in the past 14 days from entering the country with effect from May 4, 2021.
This is part of precautionary measures introduced by the government to reduce the risk of a spike in Covid-19 infections due to travellers coming from other countries as concerns over the new wave of coronavirus disease in some parts of the world continue to mount.
The Federal Government in its statement also threatened to impose a fine of $3,500 per passenger on any airline that fails to adhere to these instructions in order to ensure airlines take these new guidelines seriously.
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