Opara Ugonna
BEGINING from the first day of December, federal government workers across the country will be required to present proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha, who announced the new policy decision, said the government would issue new safety protocols in the next 24 hours.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelOn the new directive, Mustapha said public servants would have to present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result done within 72 hours, to gain access to their offices, in all locations within Nigeria and the country’s foreign missions. He said an appropriate service-wide advisory would be issued to guide the process.
Mustapha stated that statistics generated over the last four weeks from test results showed that the trend of infection was going down in some states while in others, the trajectory was rising. He put the combined total for testing by PCR and RDT at 3,141, 795 million persons.
He added that talks were ongoing to resolve the diplomatic impasse between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over testing requirements for Nigerian travellers to the UAE.
Mustapha said the aviation authorities, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had made reasonable progress to resolve the issue.
“As you are aware, the UK has eased restrictions on fully vaccinated travellers from Nigeria to the UK, and Nigeria welcomes this development and assures that the PSC shall continue to review Nigeria’s protocols based on global developments, science and national experience. A revised protocol will be issued in the next 24 hours.” He added.
