from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – NIGERIA has imposed stringent measures for citizens from Brazil, India and Turkey, the countries experiencing a surge in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.
The government in Africa’s most populous nation also advised citizens to avoid any non-essential international travels to these countries.
The travel advisory will come into effect from Tuesday.
Restrictions are subject to review after an initial period of four weeks.
Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government, did not rule out the government extending the restrictions to other countries.
“Of the countries assessed, this interim travel advisory applies to three countries in the first instance,” he said.
Mustapha is also the chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19.
He said the risk assessment justifying the restrictions took into consideration the epidemiology of cases, prevalence of variants of concern and average passenger volume between Nigeria and each country.
With a population of over 20 million people, Nigeria has recorded 165 163 cases of COVID-19, including 2 063 cases as of the past weekend.
It is the seventh worst affected country by the pandemic in the continent.
Africa has recorded more than 4, million cases and 122 388 deaths since the outbreak spilled into the continent in early 2020.
– CAJ News