The United Kingdom has announced that Nigeria has been included in the red list as part of the temporary measure to prevent further cases of the virus from entering the country from 4a.m today, Monday, December 6.
This was subsequent to the 21 cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 reported in England, which are linked to travel from Nigeria.
The Health Secretary, Mr. Sajid Javid, said under the new measure, which would be reviewed after three weeks, the UK wil add Nigeria to the red list of countries from where people arriving must quarantine in a hotel for 10 days, in an effort to limit the spread of Omicron strain of COVID-19,
This implies that from 4a.m. on Monday, UK and Irish citizens and residents arriving from Nigeria must isolate in a government-approved managed quarantine facility for 10 days, and receive two negative PCR tests, as further precautionary action is taken against the Omicron variant.
Speaking on the UK’s decision, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Clatriona Laing said: “I know that this decision will have a significant impact on people in both our countries, particularly at this time of year. This decision is a precautionary measure to protect public health in the UK, whilst we try to understand this new variant.
“We continue to work very closely with the Nigerian authorities in tackling the pandemic and commend their ongoing work.”
UK Health Secretary, Javid also stated that travellers heading to the UK would now have to take a COVID-19 test before their departure in an effort to limit spread of the virus. He said the tightened requirements would come into force from Tuesday.
“We’ve also decided to require pre-departure tests for all inward travellers that will be effective from 4am on Tuesday, and they’ll be required maximum of 48 hours before the departure time,” he explained.
