FG Set to Fine Defaulting Airlines $3,500 as International Flight Resumes
POLITICS DIGEST – Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 has warned that as the International flights prepare to resume on 29 of August 2020, any airline that boards COVID-19 patient will be made to pay a fine of $3,500
This was disclosed by National Coordinator of Taskforce on COVID-19, Dr Sani Aliyu while short briefing on Monday. He explained that with the resumption of international flights there would be an additional 10, 000 tests to be conducted daily.
“All travellers coming into the country will continue to observe the old quarantine protocol that we currently have. We will be continuing with the process of requesting for a negative PCR result for all passengers intending to travel to Nigeria. This test must be PCR test”, he said.
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According to him, the protocol would be reviewed after four weeks, and that as from August 29, the period of test result validity would be narrowed from the current 14 days to seven.
“We will continue with the policy of ensuring that airlines only board passengers without symptoms of Covid-19 and with negative PCR results. Airlines will be fined $3,500 if they fail to comply with pre-boarding Covid-19 requirements”, Aliyu said.
State Minister of Education, Hon. Emeka Nwajiuba on his part said there have been representations from groups asking the Federal Government to reopen the tertiary institutions but noted that the virus is still virulent while the necessary protective regimen to put in place by some of the institutions are not yet available.
He said; “We have reviewed responses from about 78 universities already, most of which are private universities who are insistent that they are ready to go. From the state-owned universities, we have a 50-50 response and we are working to upscale that and make sure that everybody is actually ready to go”. Nwajiuba expressed optimism that the institutions would soon be reopened but said he would not bandy dates around.
