Following the confirmation of more cases of Coronavirus in Nigeria, which increased the number of infected persons in the country to 8, the federal government has banned travelers from China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Japan, France, Germany, Norway, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Switzerland from entering the country.

According to the federal government, the move is part of measures to stem the spread of coronavirus. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Mr. Boss Mustapha disclosed this in a statement yesterday.

According to him, the 13 listed countries have recorded at least 1,000 domestic cases of the pandemic disease. “The Federal Government of Nigeria is restricting entry into the country for travelers from the following thirteen (13) countries; China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Japan, France, Germany, Norway, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Switzerland. These are all countries with over 1,000 cases domestically. “All persons arriving in Nigeria who might have visited these countries will be subjected to supervised self-isolation and testing for 14 days. “The Federal Government is temporarily suspending the issuance of all visas on arrival. The Federal Government is also counseling all Nigerians to cancel or postpone all non-essential travels to these countries; and “The Federal Government urges Public Health Authorities of countries with a high burden to conduct diligent departure screening of passengers and also endorses these travel advisories to their nationals to postpone travels to Nigeria.

“These restrictions will come into effect from Saturday, 21st March 2020 for four (4) weeks subject to review,” the statement read in part.