Minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed has stated that the action of Britain putting Nigeria on its red list and banning of foreign travels from Nigeria, is unjust, unfair, punitive, indefensible and discriminatory.
He said that although it is up to the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) to respond to the action by British government, such act wasn't driven by science.
According to him, let me use this opportunity to highlight the fact that travel ban, the type that has been slammed on some African countries, is a knee-jerk reaction that can only be detrimental to our quest to most conclusively tackle this pandemic. Instead of these reflex responses that are driven by fear, rather than science, why can't the world take a serious look at the issue of access to vaccines, and ensure that it is based on the principles grounded in the right of every human to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, political belief, economic or any other social condition.
Mohammed stated that cause of the re-occurrence of the COVID-19 cases, Omicron variant, was due to the fact that many development countries have used the advantage of their enormous resources or relationship to sign agreements with manufacturers to supply their countries with vaccines ahead of making them being available for use by other countries.
"Some of the these countries bought doses five times the size of their population, while others, mostly in Africa, have little or no access to vaccines. This is the real issue to address, instead of choosing the easy path of travel bans, which the UN Secretary General called Travel Apartheid. Let the world know that no one is safe until everyone is safe," he added.
The minister noted that the PSC has reviewed its international travel protocol, which will be in effect from December 5, 2021, revealing that the protocol is aimed at further reducing the risk of importation and exportation of COVID-19, especially the variants of concern.
Under the revised protocol, passengers arriving in Nigeria are expected to provide evidence of and comply with the following rules: COVID-19 PCR test to be done within 48 hours before departure, post-arrival Day 2 COVID-19 PCR test, self-isolation for 7 days (for unvaccinated and partially-vaccinated individuals), Day 7 post-arrival exit PCR test (for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals).
On the other hand, out-bound passengers are required to provide: valid evidence of full vaccination against COVID-19 and negative PCR test result within 48hrs from the time boarding.
Lai Mohammed said Britain should review their decision to put Nigeria on red list and change it immediately.
He noted that Nigeria has handled the pandemic with utmost responsibility and based on science, and has rightly earned global accolades for its efforts. Nigeria does not belong on any country's red list.
Source: www.clintonsdaily.com
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