Concerned by the new wave of Covid-19 in some parts of the world, the federal government has banned passengers, who have visited India, Brazil and Turkey in the last 14 days from entering the country as part of precautionary measures to minimise the risk of a surge in the cases of the disease introduced to Nigeria from other countries.
This new travel advisory will, however, come into effect from Tuesday, May 4, 2021 and subject to review after an initial period of 4 weeks, the federal government added.
But, in order to ensure no airline treats the new guidelines with levity, the federal government, has also imposed a fine of $3,500 per passenger on any airline that ignores these instructions.
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While advising Nigerians to suspend non-essential travels to any country for now, the federal government in a statement issued early this morning by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman, Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, Boss Mustapha, noted that, “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.
“Any person who has visited Brazil, India or Turkey within fourteen (14) days preceding travel to Nigeria, shall be denied entry into Nigeria. This regulation, however, does not apply to passengers who transited through these countries…”