December 04, (THEWILL) – Amid concerns about the spread of the Omicron variant of COViD-19, the United Kingdom on Saturday announced plans to add Nigeria to the travel ban list.
British Health Minister Sajid Javid, who announced the development on Saturday, said, Nigeria will be added to the British government’s travel “red list” at 0400 GMT on Monday, saying that Nigeria was second only to South Africa in terms of Omicron cases linked to travel.
“We’ve kept the data under review over the last week or so since we learned about Omicron, and we’re seeing increasing numbers of cases linked to travel.
“We’ve always said we will act swiftly if we need to, if the changing data requires that, and that’s why we decided to bring in this change on pre-departure tests”, Javid said.
Britain will require all inbound travellers to take a pre-departure COVID-19 test, and arrivals from Nigeria will have to quarantine in hotels to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, Javid added.
The pre-departure testing requirement will mean all inbound travellers must take a test a maximum of 48 hours before departure time, and will come in from 4am on Tuesday.
Javid said the number of Omicron cases in the UK has risen to around 160.
Britain had last week banned South Africa and nine other Southern African countries from entry into the UK.
About the Author
