Coronavirus: Nigeria Imposes Travel Ban On 13 high risk countries (Full list)
The Nigerian government on Wednesday issued a travel ban on the United States, United Kingdom, China and 10 other countries over the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Naijaparry News reports that the country’s Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, announced the ban at a media briefing.
He said that the ban would take effect on Friday, March 20, and it would last for four weeks and subject to review.
Other countries affected are Japan, Iran, Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, France, South Korea, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The Nigerian government also announced the temporary suspension of all visas issued to citizens from these countries.
The President Muhammadu Buhari administration had, on Tuesday, banned all government officials from embarking on foreign trips as Nigeria recorded its third case of the deadly virus.
Nigeria’s health minister, Osagie Ehanire, had earlier in the day confirmed the country’s third case – a 30-year-old Nigerian who arrived in Lagos from the UK on 13 March.
“We have started the contact tracing process and thankfully she obeyed the instruction and she confined herself to her home where she has been in contact with her immediate family,” Ehanire had said.
“That helps us tremendously because it helps us with the contact tracing.
“We will be reaching out to the passengers of the flight as we did with the index case.
“But, while we are making this public announcement, anybody who was on that flight as a passenger should reach out to the emergency numbers or the new toll-free number – 0800-CORONA.”
Global deaths and infections from virus have surpassed those inside China, where the outbreak was first recorded, for the first time since late last year.
More than 175,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in over 160 countries and territories, with major outbreaks in mainland China, Italy, Iran, and South Korea.
Over 6,700 people have died from the disease and more than 77,000 have recovered.