Coronavirus: Nigeria bans travel from US, UK, 11 other countries

The federal government has placed a ban on travel from the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), and 11 other countries over coronavirus.

The presidential task force on COVID-19 announced this in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the 11 other countries include China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Japan, France, Germany, Norway, The Netherlands, and Switzerland.

It said the 13 countries have recorded over 1,000 cases of the virus, adding that the ban will be implemented from Saturday.

The federal government also said it will temporarily suspend the issuance of all visas on arrival.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria is restricting entry into the country for travellers from the following thirteen (13) countries: China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Japan, France, Germany, Norway, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Switzerland. These are all countries with over 1,000 case domestically,” the statement read.

“All persons arriving in Nigeria who might have visited these countries, 14 days prior to such arrival, will be subjected to supervised self-isolation and testing for 14 days;

“The Federal Government is temporarily suspending the issuance of all visas on arrival;

“The Federal Government is also counseling all Nigerians to cancel or postpone all non-essential travels to these countries; and

“The Federal Government urges Public Health Authorities of countries with high burden to conduct diligent departure screening of passengers and also endorses this travel advisories to their nationals to postpone travels to Nigeria.

“These restrictions will come into effect from Saturday, 21st March, 2020 for four (4) weeks subject to review.”

Nigeria confirmed its third coronavirus case in Tuesday, while five additional cases were announced on Wednesday.

Asides the travel ban, other measures have been taken to contain the spread of the disease.

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) suspended its ongoing orientation suspended its ongoing orientation exercise and shut its camps across the country.

There has been the announcement of school closure in the Northwest region, while Lagos state has suspended religious gatherings with over 50 worshippers.