Nigerians react to the travel ban on 13 countries amid Coronavirus spread
The federal government on Wednesday, March 18 took a definite action to combat the spread of Coronavirus in the country by placing travel restrictions on 13 countries with more than 1,000 confirmed cases of Coronavirus. The ban which will come into effect on Friday, March 20 affects countries like China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Japan, France, Germany, Norway, United States of America, United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Switzerland.
According to a statement released by the Presidential Task Force on the control of Coronavirus, the Nigerian government “is temporarily suspending all visas issued to nationals from these countries. Nigerians arriving from these countries will be subjected to supervised isolation for 14 days.”
Following the announcement, many Nigerians who have been calling on the government to face the issue head-on have been sharing their opinion on the decision.
An enthusiastic young lady, Timeyin Shez received the news with a show of gratitude.
“Thank God. It goes to show how powerful the ordinary Nigerian is if we lend out our voice on issues like that. Thanks to everyone who trended the #NigeriaNeedsATravelBan yesterday,” she tweeted.
“It’s a good thing that the government listened to the people for once in this travel ban. I guess it’s because Coronavirus don’t care whether you’re rich or poor, even the most popular people are getting the virus,” Boss Idowu tweeted.
“Finally!! I say finally! Dem don hold egugun hand reach express. Na to cross road remain. More wins people. We can win this. Stay safe! Stay woke!” Oblo Mart responded.
Others were skeptical about the travel restriction, calling it medicine after death. The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire announced five new cases of Coronavirus in Nigeria during a press briefing on Wednesday in Abuja.
“After they have brought in all the Coronavirus you now decided to put travel ban. You people have no idea how this virus works, it spreads like wildfire,” Tricia Benson tweeted.
“So you people finally listened after 5 more coronavirus cases. I have nothing to tell you, continue. Always playing with people’s lives in this country,” Ugoeze Dan tweeted.
The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC has intensified efforts at screening and sharing information about the Coronavirus. Nigeria has officially recorded eight cases of COVID-19. The first two cases have fully recovered, with the six new cases undergoing monitored isolation.
