The Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr. Muhammad Babandede, has given travel advisory for China, Europe and North America bound passengers due to COVID-19. Babandede gave the advisory in a statement through the Service Public Relations Officer (SPRO) Mr Sunday James on Friday in Abuja.
He said that the directives were necessary to enable passengers travelling to China, Europe and North America from Nigeria observe the required travel protocols as requested by the Chinese and French Embassies. According to him, all intending passengers to China are required to obtain COVID-19 negative test certificate before departing Nigeria for China.
“This had taken effect from 1st September 2020. But we need to ensure that everyone was well informed of this new development. They are required to take a “Nucleic Acid Test” three days before departure. Chinese citizens are to apply for “Green Health Codes” with “HS” mark. “Other foreign nationals including Nigerians are to complete “Health Declaration Forms”
“All the two categories of travellers; foreigners to China and Chinese citizens are to submit COVID-19 negative test certificate to the Chinese embassy or Consulate in Nigeria for issuance of required clearance for their journey to China.
“Non-resident Nigerians in Europe and North America are to avoid transiting France pending the lifting of travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Transit passengers to Europe and North America transiting through Paris, must endeavour to present a valid Permanent Resident Permit for their final destination and COVID-19 negative test certificate to enable them entry into France,” he said.
Babandede advised all China, Europe and North American bound passengers to strongly abide by these rules to avoid denial of departure from Nigeria and repatriation from the countries concerned due to non-compliance.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 197 new cases of COVID-19, with five deaths recorded in the country. The NCDC made this known on its official twitter handle on Thursday. The agency said that the total confirmed COVID-19 infections in the country had reached 55,829. It noted that the 197 infections were reported from 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The NCDC said that the number of deaths rose from 1,070 to 1,075, while the number of discharged cases also increased by 200.
According to it, Plateau leads with 83 new cases, followed by Lagos with 48, Kaduna with 17 and FCT with 16 cases. Others are Ogun (11), Katsina (7), Imo (4), Edo (3), Nasarawa (3), Rivers (2), Bayelsa (1), Oyo (1) and Osun (1). The health agency said that it had conducted about 433,206 tests since the first confirmed case was announced in February. The agency said that till date, 55,829 cases have been confirmed, 43,810 cases discharged and 1,075 deaths recorded in 36 states and FCT.
Meanwhile, the health agency said that it had received complaints from passengers departing Nigeria, that airlines were rejecting COVID-19 negative results from some accredited private laboratories. “This should not be the case. We are working with other Ministries and Agencies through the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 to address the challenges faced by travellers using the Nigeria International Travel Portal.
“We have also provided a document to answer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for travellers. “The document is available on the NCDC website (www.covid19.ncdc.gov.ng) and will provide further information for travellers,” NCDC said. (NAN)
