No need for travel ban in Nigeria, says minister

 Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

IN spite of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) declaration of Coronavirus (COVID-19) as a  pandemic disease, Nigeria says it had no immediate  reason to place  travel ban on visitors to the country.

It also said it had yet to  reach the point of banning large gathering  of  people  in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, announced this at a meeting convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss Federal Government measures to control COVID-19  with foreign missions and international organisations in Abuja on Thursday.

As of yesterday, Nigeria had two confirmed Coronavirus  cases out of the over  121,000 recorded since the virus broke out in Wahun,China December 2019.

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Ehanire told the foreign diplomats and representatives of the international organisations in Nigeria , that     the Federal Government  was strictly  following  WHO’s  guidelines on combating the spread of the virus.

“There is no  reason for travel ban in Nigeria for now. We are guided by WHO’s  guidelines. ‘We also have not reached a point where we ban large gathering,” the minister said, adding that  the measures put in place by the  government to contain the spread of the virus had been yielding positive results.

Ehanire advised that  people should avoid large public gatherings. He also said even though the government   not placed any travel ban, travelling to endemic countries  like China, Japan, Italy, South Korea and Iran, should be avoided.

He said  that travellers from high risk countries  should  observe  14-day  self-isolation to ensure safety.

While calling for global collaboration to tame the virus, Ehinare said high risk countries should ensure proper screening of travelers before allowing them to board  planes.