South Africa has been added to Nigeria’s “red list” of countries for which there are severe restrictions for passengers on arrival into the country; this was announced during a briefing on Monday, June 28.
The country’s decision to introduce these restrictions is due to the spread of the Delta variant in South Africa, Chikwe Ihekweazu, the head of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, said.
Other countries on the list are India, Brazil and Turkey.
“In Nigeria, we haven’t found the Delta variant yet,” Ihekweazu said during the briefing.
Furthermore, Non-Nigerian passport holders and non-residents who visited these countries on the list within 14 days have been barred entry into Nigeria, while legal residents (that’s passport holders) and citizens coming from the aforementioned countries, must undergo a seven-day quarantine in a government-approved facility at cost to the passengers.
They are also required to take COVID-19 tests within 24 hours on arrival and after seven days in quarantine.
At the briefing, Faisal Shuaib, the head of the country’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said Nigeria is expecting an additional 3.924 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine from the COVAX scheme by August 2021.
He also said that 29.85 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will come through the African Union by September, 2021.
Nigeria received 3.92 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine via COVAX in March, 2021 and has since administered 3.44 million shots. It is expected to exhaust the current COVAX supply before the end of July, 2021.
Source: Reuters
About the Delta Variant
The SARS- CoV-2 Delta Variant is a variant of lineage B.1.617 of SARS-CoV-2, that causes the virus Covid19. It was named Delta Variant by the World Health Organization in May 31, 2021.
The Delta variant was first identified in India in late 2020. Health experts warn that it is spreading rapidly in some regions and is fast becoming the dominant virus strain globally.
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