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| Health Minister Dr. Osagie Enahire |
In a move seen as long overdue, considering virtually all the recorded COVID-19 cases in Nigeria and much of the African continent have been transported to the latter by European, Asian and other non-African migrants, the Nigerian government finally decided to shut its doors to travel from the US, UK and 11 other countries.
The affected countries are the United State of America, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Iran, Switzerland, Norway, Netherlands, France, South Korea, Germany, Italy and Spain. The Federal Government also had on Tuesday, placed a ban on travel by public servants to countries highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), announced this on Tuesday after a closed-door meeting with the Presidential Task Force Committee on COVID-19 in Abuja.
Also, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Wednesday morning ordered that all orientation camps across Nigeria be shut as preventive and precautionary measures against coronavirus. President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday also approved postponement of the National Sports Festival as a precautionary move against COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic has furthered strengthened the argument of most on the African continent (and Africans in the diaspora) on the need to push more aggressively for intra-African trade and commerce, while also dversifying the continent's economy away from the over-dependence on its vast oil resources.
The world has become a much smaller place as well and most business and related transactions can be carried out without the need for parties to be physically present in either Europe, Africa or Asia.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and no stone should be left unturned to ensure the fragile healthcare system in Africa is not overwhelmed by this novel pandemic.
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