Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Angola, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe are countries placed on the list in late November after the emergence of the Omicron variant.

However, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the Omicron variant had spread so widely that the rules no longer make much effect.

He told parliament today, Dec. 14: “Now that there is community transmission of Omicron in the UK and Omicron has spread so widely across the world, the travel red list is now less effective in slowing the incursion of Omicron from abroad. Whilst we will maintain our temporary testing measures for international travel we will be removing all 11 countries from the travel red list effective from 4 am tomorrow morning.”

Currently, all UK arrivals from red list countries must pay for and self-isolate in a pre-booked, government-approved hotel for 10 days. They must also take Covid tests within 48 hours of setting off for the UK and PCR tests within two days of their arrival.

This is as analysis of data obtained from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control revealed a 76 per cent spike in the number of positive COVID-19 cases across the country.

The UK is the third country to impose a travel ban on Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Javid stated that the UK and Irish citizens who will be travelling from Nigeria would be allowed into the country after quarantining for a certain period.

He tweeted, “In light of the most recent data, we are taking further action to slow the incursion of the Omicron variant. From 4 am on Monday, the only UK/Irish citizens and residents travelling from Nigeria will be allowed entry and must isolate in a managed quarantine facility.

“And from 4 am on Tuesday, anyone travelling to the UK from countries, not on the Red List will be required to take a pre-departure test, regardless of their vaccination status.

“Vaccines remain our first line of defence— the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones. Please get vaccinated or #GetBoosted as soon as you can.”

The announcement was made on Tuesday November 30. Other countries affected by the travel ban include South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria, Malawi and Egypt.

Canadian Transport Minister, Omar Alghabra, has said foreign nationals who had been to these countries in the previous 14 days would be temporarily banned from entering Canada.

Alghabra added that Canadians and permanent residents who have been in the 10 countries, even those who are fully vaccinated, must also be tested before entering Canada.

This is coming as the Nigeria Center for Disease and Control (NCDC) announced that two cases of Omicron variant had been detected in the country.

A statement signed by the Director-General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, partly reads, “The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control conducts case and genomic surveillance for inbound international travellers arriving in the country at its National Reference Laboratory, Abuja and a network of other testing laboratories. Sequencing of samples from COVID-19 positive inbound travellers is currently conducted in laboratories with sequencing capacity in the country and all the sequencing data are shared in publicly accessible databases. This genomic surveillance has now identified and confirmed Nigeria’s first cases of the B.1.1.529 SARS-CoV-2 lineage, now known as the Omicron variant. Samples obtained for the stipulated day two test for all travellers to Nigeria were positive for this variant in three persons with a history of travel to South Africa. These cases were recent arrivals in the country in the past week. Follow up to ensure isolation, linkage to clinical care, contact tracing and other relevant response activities have commenced. Arrangements are also being made to notify the country where travel originated according to the provisions of the International Health Regulations. The NCDC assumes Omicron is widespread globally given the increasing number of countries reporting this variant. Therefore, it is a matter of when, not if, we will identify more cases. We continue to expand our sequencing capacity in-country at the NCDC-NRL, through our network of public health laboratories and other partners. Our focus is to complete sequencing of recently accrued samples of SARS-COV-2 positive travelers from all countries, especially those from countries that have reported the Omicron variant.”

The government of Ontario confirmed that the two cases are in the capital, Ottawa.

Federal and Ontario provincial officials said both patients are in isolation while public health authorities trace their possible contacts.

“I was informed today by the Public Health Agency of Canada that testing and monitoring of COVID-19 cases has confirmed two cases of the Omicron variant of concern in Ontario,” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said in a statement. As the monitoring and testing continue, it is expected that other cases of this variant will be found in Canada,” he was quoted as saying by France24.com.

But Federal Government had claimed that the new COVID-19 variant was not in Nigeria yet.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, said in a statement on Sunday that the centre is prioritising sequencing of recently accrued samples from SARS-COV-2 positive travellers from all countries, especially those from countries that have reported the Omicron variant already.