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Nigeria expected to be added to growing Covid red list - TELEGRAPH UK
Ministers will meet soon to decide whether to increase travel restrictions to combat the omicron variant
The travel red list could be expanded this weekend, with arrivals from Nigeria facing the prospect of hotel quarantine.
Ministers on the Covid Operations Cabinet sub-committee could meet as early as Saturday to decide whether to increase restrictions to combat the new omicron variant that emerged in South Africa.
Ten African countries including South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe have so far been put on the travel red list, requiring arrivals to quarantine for 11 nights in a government-approved hotel at a cost of up to £2,285.
It emerged this week that omicron was in Nigeria in October - before the variant was identified and disclosed to the world last week.
Nigeria’s national public health institute confirmed its first case of omicron was found in a sample from October.
It is the first country in West Africa to record the new variant that has put the world on edge in the lead-up to Christmas.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (CDC) identified its first cases through genomic sequencing of Covid-19. They came from two unidentified travellers who arrived last week but the variant had already been confirmed beforehand.
Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, the director-general, said that the country remained alert in the face of the emerging crisis. “We are working very hard to enhance ongoing surveillance, especially for inbound travellers, and also trying to ramp up testing including at the land borders.
"Retrospective sequencing of the previously confirmed cases among travellers to Nigeria also identified the omicron variant among the sample collected in October 2021," Dr Adetifa added.
Scientists in southern Africa reported the omicron variant adding to a list of nearly 20 countries where it has been recorded, triggering travel bans across the world.
Ministers on the Covid-O committee are also expected to review the current UK restrictions which require all arrivals to quarantine until they have a negative PCR test taken within two days of their entry to the UK.
They have been under pressure from Labour and Sage scientific advisers to also introduce pre-departure testing before people enter the UK.
However, travel industry leaders warned of the economic damage if more restrictions were imposed. Tim Alderslade, the chief executive of Airlines UK, said: “We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of jobs. We don’t know what this is yet and it would be premature to shut down the industry based on very sketchy information.
“The red list extension made complete sense - that’s what it’s there for - but we know from experience that blanket restrictions do not stop the importation of variants. The case just hasn’t been made.”
