Senate, Reps. kick over travel ban
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, (NCDC), yesterday, confirmed three additional cases of Covid-19 with the Omicron variant.
The three cases were in addition to the three earlier announced on December 1. This brings the tally of confirmed Omicron cases in Nigeria to six.
The NCDC, in a statement by its Director-General, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, noted that all the Omicron cases, so far, were detected in persons with recent travel history to South Africa in November.
This came as the United Kingdom government said seven travelers from Nigeria had returned positive for Omicron.
NCDC boss confirmed that the UK has formally written to Nigeria on the matter in line with the global health practice.
Dr. Adetifa, however, said that given the reports of increasing numbers of Omicron cases in the UK, the NCDC was also prioritising the sequencing of COVID-19 positive samples in travellers with a history of travel to the UK.
He maintained that compliance with the travel protocols provided by the Presidential Steering Committee on Covid-19 (PSC-Covid-19) is mandatory for all international travellers arriving in Nigeria from any country and advised incoming travellers to ensure their Day-2 and Day-7 tests were done as stipulated in Nigerias travel advisory, otherwise, there would be consequences which may include publication of details, suspension of their passports and ban on travel to Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has called on the World Health Organisation (WHO) to intervene by setting uniform standards that are acceptable to all for banning countries across the globe.
Its chairman and Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, in a statement he personally signed, drew the attention of WHO to what the governors called arbitrary stigmatisation that is caused by the recent banning of countries from visitation based on omicron spread. The NGF described the inclusion of Nigeria among the Omicron present countries which must stay away from their shores as as precipitate, unfair and discriminatory.
Also reacting to the travel ban, the Senate advised the British government to be sensitive to the diplomatic relationship between both countries when taking a decision that affects Nigerians.
These were parts of resolutions reached by the chamber, following the consideration of a motion on the Need for Government of the United Kingdom to remove Nigeria from COVID-19 Red List.
It urged the Federal Government to engage the British authorities to reverse Nigerias inclusion on the red list and charged the administration to remain firm in the enforcement of necessary protocols in the containment of every Covid-19 variant in Nigeria.
It also called on major vaccines powers, namely, Britain, Canada, America and the European Union, among others, to take urgent and bold steps to ensure vaccine equity in the interest of the entire human race.
The House of Representatives also called on the UK to rescind the ban immediately and urged the Federal Government to interface with the UK authorities, immediately over the issue.
