Nigeria bans passengers from Brazil, India, Turkey

By Ibrahim Garba Shuaibu

KANO, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria on Sunday banned flights and passengers coming from Brazil, India, and Turkey amid a surge in global cases of the novel coronavirus.

In a travel advisory, the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 announced that foreigners who had visited these three countries in the past 14 days would be denied entry to the West African nations starting this week on Tuesday.

The decision, which does not apply to passengers who transited through these countries, was the result of rising virus case numbers across the globe, said the committee's chairman, Boss Mustapha.

Mustapha added that nationals of Nigeria who visited these countries would have to undergo a week of mandatory quarantine upon arrival for which they would bear the cost themselves. All foreigners arriving in the country will also need to self-quarantine for the same length of time.

The country also reduced the validity period of pre-boarding COVID-19 PCR tests for all Nigeria-bound passengers from 96 to 72 hours.

"The Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 has over the last few weeks been monitoring with concern, the increasing trend of COVID-19 cases in several countries, with additional focus on countries with high incidence, fatality rate, and widespread prevalence of variants of concern," Mustapha said.

Underlining that the precautionary measures were a "necessary step to minimize the risk of a surge in COVID-19 cases introduced to Nigeria from other countries, while national response activities continue."

"Passenger(s) arriving in Nigeria from other destinations must observe a 7-day self-isolation at their final destination. Carry out a COVID-19 PCR test on day 7 at the selected laboratory.