Omicron: Canada Bans Travels From Nigeria, 9 Other African Countries

Canada has slapped a travel ban on people coming from Nigeria, the authorities announced on Tuesday in a continuing effort towards stemming the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

 GreenWhiteGreen GWG reports that Nigeria was included among some Southern African countries and Egypt in the travel ban.

Other countries affected by the ban include South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria, Malawi and Egypt.

Canadian Transport Minister, Omar Alghabra, said foreign nationals who had been to these countries in the previous 14 days would be temporarily banned from entering Canada.

Alghabra further added that Canadians and permanent residents who have been in the 10 countries including those who have been fully vaccinated, must also be tested before entering Canada.

 GreenWhiteGreen GWG reports that the ban on Tuesday came ahead of the revelation by the Nigeria Center for Disease and Control (NCDC) that two cases of the Omicron variant had been detected in the country.

Canada had earlier reported that two cases of the Omicron variant were detected in persons who recently visited Nigeria.

The authorities in Nigeria had at that time dismissed the claim saying that the country had as at then not detected any cases of the Omicron variant in the country as alleged by the authorities in Canada and as such would not expect a travel ban.

The Omicron variant was reportedly first detected in the Southern African region and is said to have a higher infectious rate than any of the other variants so far detected.

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