The federal government has said that all travelers to Nigeria must now provide proof of COVID vaccination.
This was announced Monday by Geoffrey Okatubo, Director of Port Health Services during a press briefing at the Ministry of Health in Abuja.
The federal government in December 2022 relaxed the COVID rules in the country.
The federal government also said pre-departure and post-arrival PCR testing requirements for all people who are not fully vaccinated have been suspended, adding that passengers will no longer be required to carry evidence of vaccination on board. Nigerian International Travel Portal (NITP).
Speaking on Monday, Okatubo said port health authorities have stepped up surveillance at points of entry following reports of surges in COVID cases in countries such as China, Japan and the United States.
“The Port Health Services have resumed checks on the vaccination status of passengers and will provide traffic data for passengers arriving from all over the world,” he said.
“All international travelers arriving in Nigeria will now present proof of vaccination at the point of entry and it has been agreed that unvaccinated travelers from other countries may need to be vaccinated at the airport.
“The Minister of Health also recently approved that Port Medical Services met with other stakeholders such as the NCDC and the Air Department about the use of rapid diagnostic tests at points of entry.”
Also speaking at the briefing, Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said as at January 20, 2023, Nigeria had fully immunized 65,176,784 people with the vaccine, while 77,070,988 eligible persons had received at least one dose of the vaccine.
He said a total of 10,390,911 people have received additionpal doses.