Connect with us

COVID-19

Nigeria set to resume the evacuation of Nigerians in diaspora

Published

on

Nigerians in diaspora

Nigeria set to resume the evacuation of Nigerians in diaspora

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has announced that evacuation of Nigerians in diaspora is set to resume again.

Speaking at the Presidential Task Force briefing on COVID-19 on Monday, the Coordinator, Dr Sani Aliyu also announced that the modified guidelines to guide the process have been approved by the PTF.

According to Aliyu, these new modalities seek to “make use of the limited resources and ensure that Nigerians are safely returned home,” while also mitigating risks and ensuring that infections stay in check.

ALSO READ:

Modalities

Those who wish to be evacuated are first expected to get registered with the Nigerian missions which will be coordinating the evacuation.

They are also expected to obtain a COVID-19 clearance showing that they are free of the virus. As stated earlier, Nigerians who test positive will not be allowed to board the evacuation flight. The test must have been conducted less than 14  days before the flight or it would be considered invalid.

Intending evacuees will also be required to sign an undertaking promising to abide by the guidelines and safety precautions put in place. This is a requirement for boarding.

Upon arrival in Nigeria, they will be required to undergo clearance at the airports, while their passports are withheld by the immigration authorities, pending the outcome of the second testing.

Those who test positive will be taken in for treatment and those whose tests return negative will still have to self-isolate for 14 days before they are signed off and allowed to take their passports and go home.

Intending evacuees are to note also that they will bear the costs implication for their lodging in Abuja or Lagos for the two weeks before they are allowed to return home to their families.

However, those who reside in the arrival locations (Lagos or Abuja) and can self-isolate in their homes will be allowed to do so under strict supervision from the NCDC.

Aliyu stated further that priority consideration will be given to those in challenging conditions -“short term visitors, those on medical trips, those on holidays, pregnant mothers and students”.

The target, according to Aliyu, is to evacuate a minimum of 1000 Nigerians every week, thus clearing the backlog caused by the long break in the evacuation process.

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK

 

COVID-19

PCR Tests for Travellers Fraudulent, Probe NCDC, Ministry – WHO Envoy

Published

on

PCR Tests for Travellers Fraudulent, Probe NCDC, Ministry – WHO Envoy

The World Health Organisation’s Special Envoy for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, Ayoade Alakija, has called for an investigation of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the Ministry of Health over the required COVID-19 PCR tests for inbound passengers to Nigeria.

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

Alakija, in a tweet via her official Twitter handle, @yodifiji, wondered why the PCR tests were done with no reagents.
According to reports, the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Ifedayo Adetifa, had earlier insisted that Nigeria would not scrap COVID-19 tests for inbound passengers into the country.

Adetifa had said the country was reporting a high rate of COVID-19 cases from inbound passengers, hence the need for the insistence of the tests.
Alakija, reacting to a tweet by a journalist, David Hundeyin, tweeted, “It’s a scam. The entire thing is a criminal enterprise and should be exposed. “Diagnostic tests to enter a country where the government officials have interest in Dx test centres. PCR tests with no reagents? NCDC and MOH should be investigated. It is a scam, period.”

Read Also: Theranos’s Holmes Found Guilty on Four Counts in Fraud Trial

Continue Reading

COVID-19

Austria Suspends Mandatory Covid-19 Vaccine Law

Published

on

Austria has announced that it is suspending mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for all adults this came weeks after the legislature took effect in an EU first.

 

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

 

The Alpine nation of nine million people was among few countries in the world to make jabs against the coronavirus compulsory for all adults.
The law took effect in February and called for fines up to 3,600 euros ($3,940) from mid-March for those who do not comply.

However, minister Karoline Edtstadler said the law’s “encroachment of fundamental rights” could no longer be justified by the danger posed by the pandemic.
“After consultations with the health minister, we have decided that we will of course follow what the (expert) commission has said,” Edtstadler told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.
“We see no need to actually implement this compulsory vaccination due to the (Omicron) variant that we are predominantly experiencing here.” He noted

According to him,the highly-contagious variant is widely believed to be less severe than previous strains of the virus, and so far Austrian hospitals have been able to cope with a surge in cases.

 

Read Also: Manufacturers’ Demand For Forex Nears $2b Amid Scarcity, Weak Naira

Continue Reading

COVID-19

F.G. Commences Vaccination with Over 30 Million J&J Vaccines

Published

on

Following efforts to increase the COVID-19 vaccination coverage of eligible persons across the country, the Federal Government has launched the service delivery, communication, accountability, logistics, electronic reporting, and supportive supervision (S.C.A.L.E.S) strategy.

The SCALES 2.0 strategy, which will ensure that more Nigerians can easily locate a nearby health facility to get vaccinated by visiting the website (www.vacsitefinder.nphcda.gov.ng), will also integrate childhood immunisation alongside other primary health care services.

 

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

 

Also, eligible persons can now get vaccinated with a single shot of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccines, as there are over 30 million vaccine doses available.

Nigeria has received over 64 million COVID-19 vaccines – AstraZeneca, Moderna, J&J and Pfizer. Furthermore, 48 million vaccines are expected before mid-year.

Latest vaccination data showed that as of February 21, 2022, a total of 17,199,853 eligible Nigerians have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccination, while 7,663,560 have received their second dose. In total, 24,863,413 vaccine doses have been administered.

The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, made this known in Abuja during the launch of the SCALES 2.0 strategy with the use of the single dose J&J vaccine.

Dr Shuaib said: “We want to ensure that we not only decentralise COVID-19 vaccination, but make sure that we improve coverage and access to COVID-19 vaccination. Today, we are vaccinating just a little over 200,000 people per day. For us to reach our target of reaching 70 per cent of eligible populations before the end of 2022, we have to hit 550,000 people per day. This will ensure that we reach herd immunity.

“We are also going to be launching the single shot vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) for everyone. We understand that one of the reasons there is a gap between our first and second doses is because people experience adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination. Although the adverse events are very mild, we know that the opportunity to have a single shot not only in the hardest to reach areas, but everybody having access to one single shot will definitely increase our coverage of COVID-19 vaccination.

“The COVID-19 vaccination ‘site finder’ will improve the ability of Nigerians to assess COVID-19 vaccines. If you are able to sign on to this website, you will be shown the nearest COVID-19 vaccination centre.”

In her remarks, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Moeti Matshidiso, hailed the Federal Government’s vaccination strategy and efforts in ensuring that more Nigerians are covered.

She said: “I think we have learnt many lessons on how to leverage the capacities and lessons in delivering such campaigns in a country like Nigeria and internationally.

“I understand that there is going to be a great deal of emphasis on decentralisation – on really leveraging the decentralised nature of the Nigerian system and government to engage decision makers at the state and local government level, so that they can drive the very much action needed to speed up delivery of vaccines to the population.

“There will also be the need to expand the delivery capacity because at the same time the country is carrying out this important work, there is other work of delivering vaccines, responding to public health emergencies going on.”

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, added: “Let me assure Nigerians that we have adequate stock of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, as we have over 30 million doses in stock. I call on all eligible persons that are yet to receive their vaccination to go to the nearest COVID-19 vaccination site and get vaccinated. This single dose offers the same protection you get from two doses of AstraZeneca, Pfizer Bio-N-Tech and Moderna vaccines.

 

Read Also: Vietnam to End COVID Curbs on International Flights

Continue Reading

Trending