South Africa Added To Nigeria’s COVID ‘Red List’

Nigeria is adding South Africa to its “red list” of nations for which there are stringent restrictions imposed on travelers, authorities said during a briefing on Monday.

Nigeria imposes the limitations due to the spread of the Delta variant in South Africa, Chikwe Ihekweazu, a top official of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, stated. The nations that are on the list include India, Brazil, and Turkey.

“In Nigeria, we haven’t found the Delta variant yet,” Ihekweazu said during the briefing.

Non-Nigerian passport holders and non-residents who visited the countries on the list within 14 days, will be banished, while visa holders and inhabitants are to go through a seven-day isolation period in a government-approved facility at a cost to the traveler.

They are additionally required to take COVID-19 tests within 24 hours of arrival, following seven days in isolation.

Faisal Shuaib, the country’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency, stated Nigeria is expecting an additional 3.924 million dosages of the Oxford/AstraZeneca immunization from the COVAX plot by August 2021, and 29.85 million portions of the Johnson and Johnson antibody through the African Union by September.

Nigeria got 3.92 million doses of the AstraZeneca via COVAX in March and has so far directed 3.44 million shots.