The Nigerian government has again publicly declared a total of 132 travellers as “persons of interest,” for allegedly violating new protocols put in place to halt the spread of the dreaded coronavirus disease in the country.
A statement
issued on Thursday night by the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on
Covid-19 and signed by its chairman and Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Boss Mustapha, said the listed individuals who recently visited or
arrived from India, Brazil and Turkey, are potential health hazards to the
society.
The PSC has,
therefore, sought the whereabouts of the violators on the latest list, and
asked them to urgently present themselves for appropriate evaluations.
The statement
added that the alleged violators evaded the mandatory seven-day quarantine at
port health facilities before they are allowed to move about in the country.
According to
the statement, these persons who arrived in the country through the Nnamdi
Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, “have been declared Persons of Interest (POI) on
account of posing considerable danger to overall public health and violation of
Nigeria’s COVID19 travel protocol by evading the mandatory 7-day quarantine for
persons arriving from restricted countries.”
The
government has, therefore, said those on the new list “constitute an immediate
health hazard to the society.”
“They must
therefore transport themselves safely, to the nearest state public health
departments within 48hrs of this notice for immediate evaluation and call the
Port Health Services, Federal Ministry of Health on 08036134672 or 08032461990
for further directions,” the statement said.
The statement
added that the concerned violators shall face regulatory sanctions including
but not limited to, “disabling their travel passports for a period not less
than one year; cancellation of visas or permits of foreigners that have abused
our hospitality; and prosecution under the 2021 Health Protection Regulations.”
No comments:
Post a Comment