Nigeria has faulted Britain’s decision to add the country to a travel “red list” on account of coronavirus concerns as unjust and not driven by science.
Nigeria joined South Africa and nine other Southern African countries on the list as of 04:00 on Monday after the British health ministry said most of its cases of the new Omicron variant had clear links to overseas travel from Nigeria and South Africa.
“The decision by the British government to put Nigeria on the red list, just because of less than two dozen cases of Omicron…is unjust, unfair, punitive, indefensible and discriminatory. The decision is also not driven by science,” Information Minister Lai Mohammed said.
According to him,the move was “a knee-jerk reaction” that would be detrimental to efforts to fight the pandemic.
He added that Western countries should focus on aiding vaccine access in Africa rather than closing their borders, he said.
First reported in southern Africa, the Omicron variant has highlighted the vaccination gap between rich nations and the developing world. Nigeria last week confirmed its first Omicron cases.
Canada and Hong Kong also barred non-resident travellers from Nigeria due to concerns over the Omicron variant, while South Korea said it detected the Omicron variant in fully vaccinated travellers who arrived from Nigeria.
Meanwhile,the private sector-led coalition against COVID-19 (CACOVID) has intensified its efforts in the fight against the deadly coronavirus and urged Nigerians to do the same.
In a statement signed by the Assistant Director, Central Bank of Nigeria, Osita Nwasinobi, the coalition urged Nigerians to consciously take steps to remain safe.
“Nigeria has faced deadly viruses in the past and has surmounted them. In all of those incidents, one thing that was common was our unified front. The same is needed now if we are to combat the deadly new variant of the coronavirus – Omicron. We must maintain social distancing in public gatherings, wear our face masks, avoid poorly ventilated areas, wash and sanitize our hands regularly. Most importantly we must get vaccinated.”
“CACOVID is urging all Nigerians to get vaccinated and put an end to the spread of the coronavirus in Nigeria. Let’s work together to make Nigeria virus-free,” he stated.
So far, Omicron has been detected in more than 20 countries, a number that has been steadily ticking up as efforts to track the variant increase around the world. As of Wednesday, there were more than 261 million confirmed cases of the COVID-19 globally (5.2 million deaths), with the Delta variant continuing to dominate.
It has become expedient that we all adhere to the precautionary measures highlighted by the WHO whilst getting vaccinated. Contrary to many false reports the vaccines are effective and can reduce the risk of getting and spreading the virus that causes COVID-19.
CACOVID further encourages Nigerians to take preventative measures to protect themselves from the virus, such as frequent handwashing, wearing a face mask in indoor and outdoor public places, and maintaining social distance.
