The federal government says it will issue a new travel
advisory within 48 to 72 hours for travellers coming into the country from
regions where there is a surge in COVID infections.
Mukhtar Mohammed, secretary of the presidential steering
committee (PSC) on COVID-19, disclosed this during a media briefing in Abuja on
Monday.
Mohammed hinted that the government may impose travel
restrictions on travellers from India, Turkey, Brazil and South Africa — where
there has been a spike in infections owing to the second wave of coronavirus
and new variants.
Speaking during the briefing on Monday, Mohammed said “we
will be providing some travel advice in the next 48, 72 hours”, adding that it
will affect those coming in and leaving the country.
“While we continue to
reopen the economy, we must also be aware of the happenings around the globe,”
he said.
“Mr. chairman and honourable minister of health have made
reference to specific incidences in India, Turkey, Brazil and also South
Africa.
“These were taken with serious concern and we’ll continue to
monitor what is going on in these countries. We sympathise with the people of
these countries, because it is really a very trying time, particularly for
India that is recording over 300,000 cases a day and over 2,000 deaths.
“It is not easy.
India is a prime destination for medical tourism for Nigeria. We know that many
Nigerians like to travel to India, but now we see the situation that the
country has found itself in. We urge Nigerians to limit all travel to only
essential travel, particularly to these affected countries.
“We will continue to urge Nigerians to also comply with
public health measures that are put in place to continue to ensure that we
comply with the regulations.
“We actually empathise with those countries and what is
happening in those climes. However, on our part, we are looking seriously into
this issue. We are looking at other considerations that we need to provide. The
health of Nigerians is of prime importance and whatever we need to do to
protect Nigeria and to protect Nigerians from going into escalation of this
current situation, the PSC will do that as necessarily.”
Mohammed added that the federal ministry of health, airports
authority, state governments and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)
will continue to ensure that only those who test negative and are safe — are
allowed into the country.
As of April 25, a total of 164,719 COVID-19 cases have been
confirmed in the country, out of which 154,926 patients have recovered, while
the number of fatalities stands at 2,062.
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