COVID-19: Nigeria Bans Travelers From India, Brazil and Turkey

Nigeria will deny entry to passengers who have visited India, Brazil and Turkey in the last 14 days to stop the import of coronavirus cases from the three countries.

The travel advisory will take effect on May 4 and is subject to review after an initial period of 4 weeks, the Presidential Steering Committee on Covid-19 said in a statement Sunday. The government will introduce fines of $3,500 per passenger payable by airlines that ignore the new rules.

Nigerian officials have expressed concern about the potential for a third wave of the disease in the country of 200 million, which would be worse than the first two. “These precautionary measures are a necessary step to minimize the risk of a surge in Covid-19 cases introduced to Nigeria” from parts of the world where the virus is running rampant, said the committee’s statement.

Indian hospitals, morgues and crematoriums have been overwhelmed as the country has reported more than 300,000 daily cases for more than 10 days straight. Many families have been left on their own to find medicines and oxygen.

In Brazil, new coronavirus cases have fallen off a late-March peak, but remain high by historical standards. Total deaths in the country are second only to the United States.

Turkey imposed a nationwide “full lockdown” on Thursday, lasting until May 17, to curb a surge in coronavirus infections and deaths, with the world’s fourth highest number of cases and the worst on a per-capita basis among major nations.