Coronavirus: FG tells Nigerians to avoid China in new travel advisory

As British Airways suspends all flights to China

The Federal Government has asked Nigerians to halt any plans to visit China for now, in view of the raging case of Coronavirus in the Asian country.

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, gave the directive in Abuja on Wednesday at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting.

He had given an update on Coronavirus to the session, which was presided over by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

The FEC approved a travel advisory for Nigerians, stating clearly that all travel plans to China be stopped in the meantime.

The advisory also directed all returnees to Nigeria from China to be quarantined outdoors within a period of two weeks before fully interacting with their families.

Ehanire explained that the two weeks would be used to monitor possible symptoms on the bodies of the returnees.

The government also directed all airlines flying into Nigeria to report any passenger with signs of illness to airport authorities upon landing at any airport in the country.

The minister added that all disease control and monitoring agencies in the country had been alerted to be on the lookout for any signs of the infection.

Meanwhile, British Airways has suspended all direct flights to and from mainland China after Britain warned against all but essential travel to the country due to the coronavirus outbreak.

BA.com, the airline’s website, shows no direct flights to China are available in January and February.

“We apologize to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority,” BA said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. “Customers due to travel to or from China in the coming days can find more information on BA.com.”

Britain on Tuesday advised against “all but essential” travel to mainland China due to the coronavirus outbreak.