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COVID-19: FG Bans Nigerians From Traveling Abroad

For evading the Coronavirus Polymerase Chain Reaction test at the country’s international airports, the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 has barred over 2,000 Nigerians and foreigners from flying abroad and into the country for a year.

Mukhtar Muhammad, the Presidential Steering Committee’s National Incident Manager, revealed the information on Monday in Abuja.

Muhammad said the identities of over 2,000 nationals and foreigners had been pasted at all major federal medical facilities where medical professionals were assigned to provide care to Nigerians and foreigners who had travelled into the country during the COVID-19 third wave.

He claimed that the government had mandated that travellers arriving in the country, particularly from high-risk countries, be quarantined in a government-run facility, and that those who did not follow the protocol had their passports revoked for a year.

Defaulters’ names and passport numbers had previously been made public by the PSC.

He said: “We have included the provision of quarantine for passengers who arrived from high risk countries and people who evaded these protocols have been penalised by publishing their names as well as suspending their passports for one year.

“Let me assure you that so far we have published the list of over 2,000 people who evaded quarantine in our health facilities.

“And we have gone ahead to ensure that their passports are suspended.

“So, for every action, there are consequences.”

According to the Nigerian News Agency, the PSC issued a Travel Advisory for passengers arriving in Nigeria from Brazil, India, and Turkey on May 1, 2021.

According to the Chairman of the PSC, Boss Mustapha, the preventive steps were necessary to reduce the possibility of importation of worrisome variations and breaking the chain of transmission to the people.

Passengers arriving from/or visiting any of these three countries within 14 days of their visit to Nigeria were obliged to follow mandatory arrival quarantine and testing protocols in specified facilities under the terms of the measures.

However, according to numerous studies, many passengers failed to comply with the mandatory isolation or show up for the PCR repeat test on Day 7 as required.

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