COVID-19: UK may list Nigeria as travel risk

Nigeria, Jamaica and Grenada are among the countries that could be moved to the red list today, according to a British data expert.

Lockdowns due to the pandemic halted most overseas travel for months, but many of those restrictions for British travellers were removed in June.

However, the pandemic is evolving differently in each country, and the British government is set to update its COVID-19 travel list as part of a review that happens every three weeks, Sky News reports.

Nigeria is currently on the amber list of countries and territories, but it could assume a red list if situation report about the COVID-19 infection rate does not improve.

Countries are automatically assumed to be amber unless they present a low public health risk, which will mean they become green, or a high public health risk, which will see them turn red.

The Joint Biosecurity Centre has developed a risk assessment methodology to help ministers decide. They look at infection rates, testing rates, positivity rates, rates of variants of concern or variants under investigation, the ability to test for variants (genomic sequencing), and travel links with countries linked to VOCs or VUIs.

Vaccination rates are also taken into consideration

Countries and territories are listed as red, amber or green – with different rules for each of the three lists.

According to data expert, Tim White, Jamaica and Grenada, which are popular destinations for tourists in the Caribbean, could be added to the red list.

In Africa, the data suggests that Nigeria could be vulnerable, White said; adding that St Lucia is at risk because infection rates increased after the last travel review – but they are now declining and the case numbers are low overall, leading him to suspect that the country will be spared.

According to the authorities, before anyone travels to England, they must:

• Take a COVID-19 test in the three days before you travel to England
• Book and pay for COVID-19 tests – to be taken after arrival in England
• Complete a passenger locator form
• You must do these things whether you are fully vaccinated or not.

Again, when a fully vaccinated traveller arrives in England, he must take a COVID-19 test on or before the second day.

This applies if you’re fully vaccinated under either: the UK vaccination programme; the UK vaccine programme overseas; or an approved vaccination programme in Europe or the USA because, not all are recognised in England.

Nigeria on Wednesday recorded three COVID-19-deaths and 299 new infections in 15 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

This was disclosed in an update shared on the Facebook page of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Thursday morning.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the new 299 COVID-19 infections, on Wednesday , showed a decline from the 519 cases reported on Tuesday.

The NCDC said that Nigeria’s total infections now stand at 200,356, while the fatality toll was 2,640.

A breakdown of the Wednesday data revealed that Lagos State reported 94 cases, while the FCT came second with 30 infections; and Oyo State ranked third with 27 new cases.

The NCDC said Bayelsa came fourth with 23 cases and is followed by Rivers State with 20.

Edo and Taraba recorded 17 cases each while Kwara and Benue recorded 15 and 14 cases each while Delta registered 11 infections.

The agency added that Osun and Ekiti reported 10 and nine cases respectively while Gombe and Plateau reported four cases each while Kano and Ogun states registered two cases each.

The NCDC also added that Nigeria has tested over 2,942,578 samples out of its estimated 206 million population.

The centre also added that 8,799 patients are currently in its isolation centre with the disease nationwide.

The NCDC said as at Wednesday, 188, 917 people have been treated and discharged.

It added that a multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre activated at Level 2, continued to coordinate the national response activities.