The Federal Government says fully vaccinated international travelers visiting Nigeria from April 4 will no longer be required to take the pre-departure Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) COVID-19 test.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, said this in Abuja yesterday at the national briefing of the committee.

He said those in such category would be needing to take a free rapid antigen test on arrival at the airport.

He said the decisions were part of the nation’s revised international travel protocols.

He said the same protocols for the fully vaccinated would apply to travellers between the ages of 10 and 18.
Mustapha said that unvaccinated or partially vaccinated international travellers would still be required to take the PCR test 48 hours before boarding a flight to Nigeria.

“We still have the National Response in place as we continue to monitor global trends and adapt them with our situation in the country. “There has been a consistent decline in the number of cases around the world but that does not give us the leverage to let our guards down yet because there are predictions of rebounds as we can see in China, South Korea, Germany, Vietnam, France, Hong Kong, among others.

“In fact, China has reintroduced lockdowns in some cities due to the spike in cases. So far, the world has recorded over 471 million confirmed cases, 6m deaths and over 11 billion vaccine doses administered; while in Nigeria, we have recorded 255,103 and 3,142 persons have died as a result of COVID-19.

“We have vaccinated over 20 million persons with at least the first dose. This number is not very encouraging, hence, the need for all eligible Nigerians to come out and be vaccinated,” he said.

The SGF said that the PSC had reviewed these situations around the world and applied such to the situation in Nigeria and had “revised the International Travel Protocols (ITP) which should come into effect on Monday, 4th April.

“In-bound (fully vaccinated) passengers arriving in Nigeria will no longer be required to take a pre-departure PCR COVID-19 Test; on arrival, for fully vaccinated passengers, a sample will be taken at the airport for rapid antigen test by the NCDC within the arrival hall of the airport.

“Passengers who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated shall take a COVID-19 PCR test 48 hours before departure, or do a Day 2 and day 7 test on arrival. Such passengers will be expected to pay for their PCR tests through the travel platform;

“Fully vaccinated passengers will not be charged for arrival rapid antigen tests at the airport; rules that apply to fully vaccinated adults also apply to children aged 10 – 18 years; they will not be required to have pre-arrival PCR tests but will have a sample taken at the arrival hall but not charged.”

He also said all passengers travelling out of Nigeria were encouraged to be fully vaccinated and to fully comply with COVID-19 protocols and requirements in their country of destination.

Mustapha disclosed that 193 returnees of the 2,357 Nigerians evacuated from war-torn Ukraine had tested positive for COVID-19 “and are managed according to our protocols.”

He also alerted Nigerians, especially those travelling to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, to be mindful of scammers who, under the guise of helping to access the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP), circumvent processes.

He warned that as two major religious festivities (Easter and Sallah) were approaching “we shall be experiencing increased passenger traffic in and out of the country.

“While the PSC prepares to escalate surveillance and other control activities, we urge the states and all Nigerians to also increase their vigilance and take measures to moderate activities.”

Within the past few weeks, Nigeria has experienced a significant decrease in the number of confirmed infections and fatalities – giving a strong indication of the possible end of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

The latest statistics released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Sunday morning, shows that the country recorded three cases on Saturday, the lowest daily infections since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.

With no fatalities were recorded, the disease centre noted that the confirmed cases were reported by Katsina and Kaduna states in the North-west with two and a single case respectively.

NCDC noted that the country’s infection toll now stands at 254,640, while the death toll still stands at 3,142, as no fatality has been recorded since February 18.

Meanwhile, the data on the NCDC website shows that a total of 2,325 people are still down with the illness in Nigeria, while 249,171 people have been successfully treated and discharged nationwide.

NCDC also added that five states: Nasarawa, Plateau, Kano, Rivers, and Sokoto reported that they recorded no cases on Saturday.

President Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed the designation of Nigeria as one of the six countries in Africa designated as manufacturing bases for the COVID-19 vaccine.

The President spoke on Friday in Brussels, Belgium, while contributing to the Roundtable on Health Systems and Vaccine Production at the ongoing 6th Europe-Africa Summit.

He said, “I am delighted to receive the news of the selection of Nigeria among recipients of mRNA vaccine technology transfer. We shall ensure the best use is made of the opportunity. Nigeria also offers to host the bio-manufacturing training hub proposed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). We commit to providing support to make the hub functional in the shortest possible time.

“Accordingly, we are prioritising the manufacture of vaccines on the African continent and in the sharing and transfer of technology and intellectual property rights. We call on the European Union (EU) to support the World Trade Organisation (WTO) towards the conclusion of negotiations on intellectual property rights’ waiver to ensure that the manufacturing of vaccines can start early in Africa.”

Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, in a statement, noted that with the addition of Nigeria to the countries earlier approved for the vaccine production on the continent, efforts by the Buhari administration to change the selection that the country considered unrepresentative of the needs, capabilities and population distribution in Africa had yielded the desired result.

President Buhari, who also called for collaboration to address the effects of the pandemic, commended the efforts of the foreign partners in making the COVID-19 vaccine available.

He, however, urged them to do more as less than 10 per cent of the African population had gotten the jab, stressing that it could negatively affect Africa’s developmental projections.