The Nigerian Government has placed a temporary ban on non-Nigerian passengers who have been in Brazil, India or Turkey within 14 days of intended arrival into Nigeria, due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus virus.
Penpushing reports that the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) Chairman on coronavirus, Boss Mustapha made this known on Sunday in a statement, explaining that the travel ban does not apply to passengers who only transited through these countries that have been experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases in the past week.
The Committee boss also explained that the new travel advisory shall come into effect from May 4 and shall be subject to review after an initial period of 4 weeks, adding that Non-Nigerian passport holders and non-residents who visited Brazil, India or Turkey within 14 days preceding travel to Nigeria, shall be denied entry into Nigeria, and that passenger(s) arriving in Nigeria from other destinations must observe a seven-day self-isolation at their final destination
Penpushing reports that, he disclosed that there are penalties for airlines and passengers who fail to comply with the new travel directives, stressing “Airlines shall mandatorily pay a penalty of $3,500 for each defaulting passenger; Non-Nigerians will be denied entry and returned to the country of embarkation at cost to the Airline.”
“Nigerians and those with permanent resident permit shall undergo seven days of mandatory quarantine in a Government approved facility at the point-of-entry city and at cost to the passenger. Carry out a COVID-19 PCR test on day 7 at selected laboratory. Shall be monitored for compliance to isolation protocol by appropriate authorities,” he emphasised.
The Chairman of the committee declared that passengers who refuse to comply with directions of Port-Health staff, security agencies or evade quarantine shall be prosecuted in accordance with the law, noting that these precautionary measures were necessary to minimize the risk of a surge in coronavirus cases while national response activities continue.
Penpushing reports that, Mustapha urged members of the public to adhere to all coronavirus preventive measures including adherence to the national travel protocol, proper use of face masks, regular handwashing and physical distancing.
The Chairman in the same vein appealed to Nigerians to avoid any non-essential international travels to any country at this period and specifically to countries that were showing a rise in number of cases and deaths.
Penpushing further reports that, India has had more coronavirus cases in the last one week than anywhere else in the world, while its hospitals, morgues and crematoriums have been overwhelmed with more than 300,000 daily cases for more than 10 days straight.
The record has it that, number of families have been left on their own to scramble for medicines and oxygen, and nearly 10 Indian states and union territories have imposed some form of restrictions, even as the federal government remains reluctant to impose a national lockdown.
Penpushing also reports that in similar development,the pandemic continued to wreak havoc in Brazil, which on Thursday became the second country to officially top 400,000 coronavirus deaths — April was Brazil’s deadliest month of the pandemic, with about 100,000 lives lost.
The record in same vein, showed that Turkey has entered its first national coronavirus lockdown as infection rates continue to climb in the country, now the highest in Europe, with record of 37,674 new coronavirus cases and 339 deaths in the last 24 hours,
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