Nigerian govt faults British travel ban, alleges most infected travelers from the UK
The Federal Government of Nigeria has faulted the decision to add Nigeria to the list of countries banned from entering the United Kingdom due to the Covid-19.
Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ that it is unfortunate the knee-jerk reaction of some countries to the Omicron strain. He noted that even the World Health Organisation had said recently that countries should focus more on collaboration rather than shutting borders.
He ruled out the possibility of restricting foreign travelers from visiting Nigeria despite travel bans on the country by Canada, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
This is just as the government stated that most of the in-bound passengers that tested positive for COVID-19 were from the UK.
The WHO had two weeks ago designated the omicron variant as a variant of concern. The NCDC had last week announced that the country had reported three cases of the variant. Before this, the Canadian government had announced that it found two individuals with the variant who had travel history to Nigeria.
The UK on Saturday night also announced that it found 21 cases of the omicron variant which were linked to Nigeria. It announced that it would, from Monday (today), restrict all flights emanating from Nigeria.
The minister said the Omicron strain could not yet be declared as a deadly strain because no deaths had so far been recorded across the world.
“We are watching what the science community is saying and of course not rushing to judgment and we are also not applauding any lockdowns or any prohibitions or banning of flights or movement of people until we know more.
“We believe that the harm it will do to livelihoods and economies may be more than the perceived value that will be derived from shutting movement between countries. I believe countries should come together to take a common approach and that includes the UK and other countries contemplating a red list,” Ehanire added.
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