Why we removed Nigeria from travel red list – UK

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, says the United Kingdom removed Nigeria from its travel red list based on “scientific and public health data”.

The British government had on December 4 placed Nigeria and 10 others on its travel ban following the outbreak of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Other affected countries are Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Nigeria had kicked against the action, which he described as discriminatory and threatened to retaliate by imposing a similar travel ban on the UK, Canada, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The United Nations also condemned the ban on non-UK residents entering England, saying it was “travel apartheid.”

The government had said the ban would be reviewed on December 20 but announcing the new development on Tuesday, the UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the Omicron had spread so widely that the rules were less effective.

Laing said, “On Tuesday 14th December, UK ministers made the decision – based on scientific and public health data – to remove Nigeria from the UK’s travel red list. The emergence of the Omicron variant is a reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over, and like all countries around the world the UK has had to take difficult decisions to protect public health.

“We took this necessary precautionary action to give us time to understand the challenge we and others faced, and to slow down the spread of Omicron while scientists urgently assessed what impact the variant has on vaccines, treatments and transmissibility. When we announced the heightened restrictions, we made clear that we would remove them as soon as we could, and that is the decision ministers have taken today.

“I know this will be welcome news for students, tourists, businesses and families in the UK and Nigeria, although I recognise the impact that these temporary health measures have had.”