COVID-19: Lagos To Deactivate Passport Of Those Who Flout Testing Protocols

The Lagos state government has announced that it will deactivate the passports of travellers who do not adhere to the COVID-19 testing protocols.

Ekohotblog reports that the announcement is contained in a document on the state’s COVID-19 situation reports and updates made available by Akin Abayomi, commissioner for health, and Gbenga Omotosho, his information and strategy counterpart.

Lagos, which is the hotbed of the pandemic in Nigeria, has recorded over 28,700 COVID-19 cases out of which 236 patients have died.

According to the document, the state has tested over 213,000 out of the 24 million residents.

The commissioners disclosed that the state witnessed surge in positive cases of inbound travellers with the figure reaching eight per cent this week due to Nigerians in Diaspora returning to the state for Christmas and the holidays.

They said many travellers, who paid for COVID-19 tests, refused to show up at the testing centers, adding that efforts are underway to find the people.

“A number of people paid for the COVID-19 test, but did not show up for testing. Efforts are being made through our logistics arm to reach this group of people,” the document reads.

They, however, disclosed that attempts to get through to the people have been challenging and painstaking as many of them used fake contact information while inputting their details on the testing portal.

The commissioners appealed to them asking them to consider the “safety of the general public, we request that the people in this group come for testing immediately, as we will submit the details of those that don’t to the Presidential Task Force for the deactivation of their passports.”

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They explained that the second wave of COVID-19 is as a result of large religious congregation, school reopening, opening of the economy, social gatherings and entertainment, variants, general laxity, false sense of security and non-adherence to guidelines.