Nigeria will from Saturday ban entry to arrivals from 13 of the countries worst affected by the coronavirus epidemic, the minister of interior said on Wednesday.
All the countries on the list, which includes the US, Britain, Germany, China, Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan, have reported more than 1,000 coronavirus cases.
“Federal government has placed a complete travel ban on 13 countries. We have also suspended issuance of visas to citizens of these countries and have also cancelled all visas earlier issued to them,” said Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola.
The minister, who addressed reporters in the capital Abuja after emerging from a cabinet meeting, said the ban would take effect from Saturday and “will last for four weeks subject to review”. Earlier, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said the restrictions would come into force on Friday.