The private laboratories that provide testing for COVID-19 are commercial entities, independent of the Government of Nigeria. This is similar to current practice in countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, United Arab Emirates and others. To ensure that the public health response is not affected by personal requests and needs, all travel-related testing can only be carried out in private laboratories. These laboratories are for public health purposes and therefore provide testing free of charge to the public. The NCDC has activated several public health laboratories for COVID-19 in Nigeria as at the 14th of September 2020. This was to enable early detection and to reduce the risk of further transmission of the disease. Based on this data and the current capacity in Nigeria, it was decided that all travellers to Nigeria must be tested after seven days of return to the country. In addition, several people flouted self-isolation guidance on return. Of the number of people who returned to Nigeria, 5% tested positive within 14 days of arrival in Nigeria. From May till August 2020, evacuation and emergency flights were allowed into the country following an initial restriction on international flights. The goal was to find the right balance between protecting Nigeria from more infections, while supporting the restart of international travel. The decision to make repeat tests mandatory in Nigeria was based on a review of data by NCDC and PTF-COVID-19. The NITP is currently hosted on the web portal of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and co-managed with Port Health Services of the Federal Ministry of Health and other government institutions within PTF-COVID-19. The aim of this platform is to ensure safe travel in the context of COVID-19, and to reduce the risk of a spike in COVID-19 cases as international flights resume. The Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP) was launched by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF-COVID-19) with support from the Coalition Against COVID (CA-COVID). This article is an unfortunate misrepresentation of efforts by Government Ministries and Agencies, to enable safe travel in the context of a pandemic affecting every country in the world. In addition, no attempt was made to contact the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on this matter before the newspaper went to press. This report is simply incorrect and based on information that is inconsistent with the truth. 14 September 2020 | Abuja – Our attention has been drawn to a report published by the Daily Independent newspaper on the 14th of September 2020, with the title: “Fraud Rocks NCDC COVID-19 Tests For Air Travellers”
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