The national Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19, Sani Aliyu said the Federal Government would resume the evacuation of Nigerians stranded abroad due to the covid-19 pandemic.
He said the government plans to evacuate a minimum of 1000 Nigerians per week.
Aliyu revealed that the evacuation process will be guided by some policies already put in place.
This, he said is to clear the backlog of over 4,000 stranded Nigerians in the next four weeks.
Aliyu said the new policy seeks to make use of the limited resources and ensure that Nigerians are safely returned home.
He said evacuees will be required to sign an undertaking promising to abide by the guidelines and safety precautions put in place.
“There will be a need for Nigerians coming into the country to undergo PCR tests for COVID-19 before they board.
”These tests need to be valid for at least 14 days. In other words, if the test is done beyond 14 days, it will not be accepted.
“Prior to boarding, they will be required to sign an undertaking that they will follow the necessary precautions that will be applied when they come into the country. These will include:
“The need to make themselves available for repeat PCR tests in the country when they arrived within 72 hours. They will be given an appointment card and an address where they will go and have the tests done.
“They will also be required to stay in the point of entry which will be Lagos or Abuja for now because these are the two cities where the flights will be coming in and this is the arrangement we have made with the private sector,” he said.
He noted that evacuees are to make arrangement for their own accommodation in Lagos and Abuja for a period of 14 days.
“But if they wish, they can stay at home, provided they undergo self-isolation at home,” he said.
The new protocols were jointly designed by various agencies of government including the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, immigration and security authorities as well as the aviation sector.
