The Federal Government has announced sanctions for 27 foreigners, 62 Nigerians, and one Danish citizen who recently returned from Turkey, India and, Brazil for evading COVID-19 safety protocols for travelers from those countries.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, Mr. Boss Mustapha, in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja declared them wanted as they posed a high risk to public health.
The committee had on May 1 issued a travel advisory for passengers arriving in Nigeria from Brazil, India, and Turkey in order to mitigate the risk of importing the new variants of coronavirus.
According to the PSC, passengers arriving from/or who have visited any of the three countries within fourteen days prior to the visit to Nigeria, are required to follow mandatory arrival quarantine and testing protocols in designated facilities.
The statement issued on Sunday stated, “The Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) has however observed that while most of the arriving passengers dutifully observed the guidelines, some (Nigerians and Foreigners) have violated them in contravention of the provisions of the Coronavirus Health Protection Regulations 2021.
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“While 26 of the foreigners are Indian nationals, one is a Dane.
“All the affected persons arrived in Nigeria between May 8, 2021, and 15th May 2021 through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
“They have been declared Persons of Interest (POI) on account of posing a considerable danger to overall public health and for the violation of Nigeria COVID-19 travel protocol by evading the mandatory 7-day quarantine for persons arriving from restricted countries.
“Members of the public are by this notice advised that these persons of interest constitute an immediate health hazard to the society.
”They must therefore transport themselves safely, to the nearest state public health departments within 48hrs of this notice for immediate evaluation and call the Port Health Services, Federal Ministry of Health on 08036134672 or 08032461990 for further directions.”
Sanction meted to the violators include, “Disabling their travel passports for a period not less than one year; Cancelation of visas/ permits of foreigners that have abused our hospitality; and Prosecution under the 2021 Health Protection Regulations.
The committee said an additional list of Batch II defaulters shall be published in a subsequent announcement.
