The federal government has expressed disappointment over the United Kingdom government’s placement of Nigeria on its red list following the detection of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
Reacting less than twenty-four hours, after the UK announced its plan, Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said the move by the British government was ill-advised, pointing out that it would have multiple impacts on commerce, and disrupt activities during the Christmas and New Year festivities.
The Minister of Health however ruled out the possibility of restricting foreign travelers from visiting Nigeria despite travel bans on the country by Canada, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Ehanire described as unfortunate the knee-jerk reaction of some countries to the Omicron strain, noting that even the World Health Organisation had said that countries should focus more on collaboration rather than shutting borders.