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The Nigerian government announced on Monday new measures for passengers traveling to the country from the UK and South Africa in the wake of an increase in COVID-19 cases locally and the detection of new COVID-19 variants in those countries. .
Passengers from those two countries will need to present a pre-departure permit to fly / QR code and evidence of a negative COVID-19 OCR result performed within 96 hours of the start of their trip.
Passengers from the two countries will also be received and processed separately by public health authorities upon arrival in Nigeria. Additionally, all these passengers will need to self-isolate for seven days after arrival, after which they will need to undergo a COVID-19 PCR test.
Passengers who test positive for COVID-19 thereafter will be referred for isolation and additional handling, while those who test negative will be allowed out of isolation.
In addition, a specific register of arrivals from the UK and South Africa will be opened to enhance surveillance and active enforcement of measures.
All airlines that have passengers traveling from the UK and South Africa are subject to the regulations, which go into effect on December 28.
The Nigerian government also established severe penalties for airlines that fail to comply with regulations.
Airlines face fines of $ 3,500 for each passenger who defaults and may be forced to return such non-Nigerian passengers to their point of origin.
Airlines also face suspension from operating in the country if there are repeated violations of regulations.
South Africa recently announced that a new variant of COVID-19 (501.V2) was driving the current resurgence of the disease in the country, resulting in increased numbers of confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
The variant is dominant among new confirmed infections in South Africa, according to health officials and scientists leading the country’s virus strategy.
Meanwhile, the UK variant, dubbed B.1.1.7, has quickly become the dominant strain in COVID-19 cases in parts of southern England and has been linked to an increase in hospitalization rates, especially in London and the adjacent county. from Kent.
As of December 28, Nigeria has reported more than 84,000 confirmed cases and more than 1,200 deaths.