By Adedapo Adesanya
There is huge pressure on Nigeria to announce the restrictions of flights from the United Kingdom over fears of the spread of a new strain of COVID-19 in the country.
Already, several European countries have banned flights from the UK, including the Netherlands, which was the first country to take this action.
But Nigeria seems to be biding her time despite some citizens of Nigeria, the most populous in Africa, asking the government to quickly protect them by imposing a travel ban from the UK before things get out of control.
Apart from the Netherlands, other nations that have stopped passengers from the UK coming into their space include France, Germany, Spain, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, France, Isreal, Ireland and Austria.
There are also reports that Belgium, Italy, Canada, Bulgaria and Romania have announced travel restrictions from the UK.
The new strain of COVID-19, known as VUI-202012/01, is proving to be up to 70 per cent more transmissible. However, there is no evidence yet to show that the new variant was more deadly or would react differently to vaccines.
But it is believed that the new strain emerged in the UK in mid-September and it is believed to be more contagious than the original strain.
The broad symptoms of the new strain are the same as the old one– high temperature, persistent dry cough and a loss or change in taste and smell, only quicker in its transmissibility.
Faced with this rapid development, the UK government has moved to enforce stricter lockdown measures over the coming Christmas period.
Following the original strain that was first discovered on February 29, Nigeria airports were closed from March 23 to all. Only essential international flights were left operational as part of the country’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
It wasn’t until August 29 that it was fully opened for international flights although it had resumed domestic flights on July 8.
Although passengers on international flights need to provide a negative COVID-19 test in order to board and pay for another test after they arrive in Nigeria, it is, however, not clear how effective this is especially during the festive season when there is an influx of visits into the country.
Nigeria is experiencing the second wave of coronavirus disease, intensifying calls for an urgent ban on flights from the UK.
Aduragbemi Omiyale