The Federal Government on Friday announced a reviewed protocol for all international travels in a bid to mitigate the risk of spreading Omicron, the new strain of COVID-19.
The Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, in a statement issued on Friday announced that out-bound travellers are required to provide either valid evidence of full vaccination against COVID-19 or negative PCR test results within 48hrs from the time of boarding.
Mustapha, in the statement also added that all travellers coming into the country have now been mandated to provide a COVID-19 PCR test within 48hrs before departure as well as post-arrival day COVID-19 PCR test.
In-bound passengers that have not been vaccinated or partially vaccinated are also required to self-isolate for 7 days.
The SGF who said the new travel protocol will take effect from December 5, added that the effort is in line with the government commitment to containing the spread of the new variant.
The statement reads, “The Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 has reviewed the International Travel Protocol of October 22, 2021.
“All passengers arriving in Nigeria are expected to provide evidence of and comply with the following rules: COVID-19 PCR test to be done within 48hrs before departure, post-arrival day 2 COVID-19 PCR test, self-isolation for 7 days (for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals), and day 7 post-arrival exit PCR test (For unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals).”
This is coming on the heels of the discovery of three cases of Omicron in Nigeria.
Omicron — identified as a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organisation (WHO) — was recently detected by South African authorities.
According to WHO, Omicron has since been detected in at least 23 countries including the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Botswana, Israel, Australia and Hong Kong.
