FG releases new Covid-19 restrictions for International

The Federal Government has released new Covid-19 restrictions for international travellers.

The Federal Government says all travellers arriving in Nigeria must henceforth provide evidence of COVID vaccination.

Geoffrey Okatubo, Director of Port Health Services, said this on Monday during a media briefing at the Ministry of Health in Abuja.

NewsOnline Nigeria recalls that in December 2022, the Federal Government relaxed COVID rules in the country.

The Federal Government had also said pre-departure and post-arrival PCR test requirements for all persons who are not fully vaccinated have been suspended, adding that passengers will no longer be required to upload evidence of vaccination on the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP).

Speaking on Monday, Okatubo said port health services had heightened surveillance at points of entry following the reported surge in the cases of COVID in countries like China, Japan, and the United States.

“Port health services have resumed checks of passengers’ vaccination status and will provide traffic data on inbound passengers from all over the world,” he said.

“All international travellers arriving in Nigeria are now to provide evidence of vaccination at the point of entry and it was agreed that unvaccinated passengers arriving from other countries may have to be vaccinated at the airport.

“The minister of health also recently approved that port health services should meet with other stakeholders such as the NCDC, and the ministry of aviation over the use of rapid diagnostic testing at points of entry.”

Also speaking at the briefing, Faisal Shuaib, executive director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), said as of January 20, 2023, Nigeria has fully vaccinated 65,176,784 persons with the vaccine, while 77,070,988 eligible persons have taken at least one dose of the vaccine.

He said a total of 10,390,911 persons have received booster doses.