FG to sanction returning travellers who fled quarantine facilities

Returning foreign passengers who fled the quarantine facilities and violated the compulsory requirement will not go unpunished.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, stated this on Monday at the resumed briefing of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

He noted that the committee has received reports that some persons who recently returned to the country violated the mandatory quarantine requirement under the advisory by escaping from the facilities.

Mustapha, who is also the PSC Chairman, condemned the violation of the nation’s laws and hospitality, noting that the committee was awaiting the report of ongoing investigations and would impose appropriate sanctions on the violators.

He revealed that the PSC has considered several pre-emptive measures to be taken to mitigate the likely impact of the variants of COVID-19, should they get imported into Nigeria.

The SGF explained that this became important in view of the fragile state of the nation’s health systems, the disruption to the delivery of vaccines, and the lack of compliance with the extant public health measures and social measures contained in the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Health Protection Regulations 2021.

According to him, it is imperative to reinstitute the various public health measures that were put in place under the health protection regulations. (Channels TV)