TheCable

The United Kingdom (UK) has relaxed its COVID-19 vaccine policy for Nigeria — accepting vaccine certificates from fully vaccinated travellers.

In an updated statement on its website on Thursday, the UK government added Nigeria to the list of countries with approved vaccines.

It stated that fully vaccinated travellers from Nigeria will be able to enter England from Monday, October 11, 2021, without the need to provide a pre-departure test or undertake a day 8 test or self-isolate for ten days.

Before now, fully vaccinated travellers from Nigeria still needed to self-isolate for ten days.

The UK government added that those fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca (Including Covidshield), Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen (Johnson and Johnson will still need to pay for a day 2 test.

“From Monday, October 11, 2021, fully vaccinated travellers from Nigeria will be able to enter England without the need to provide a pre-departure test or undertake a day 8 test or self-isolate for 10 days, although we still need to book and pay for a day 2 test. This policy applies to those fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca (including Covidshield), Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen (Johnson and Johnson),” the statement reads.

“If you arrive in England before that date, you must follow the rules for people who are not fully vaccinated. If you arrive after that, you can use a vaccine certificate to prove your vaccination status.

“Fully vaccinated means that you have had a complete course of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before you arrive in England. The day you had your final dose does not count as one of the 14 days.

“You must be able to prove that you have been fully vaccinated under a vaccination programme and have a valid proof of vaccination recognised by the British Government (for Nigeria, the certificates with valid QR codes as issued by Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) are recognised).”

Ben Llewellyn-Jones, acting British high commissioner, said, “the exemption of fully-vaccinated Nigerians travelling to the UK from providing a pre-departure test and self-isolating for 10 days, is a very welcome development. To make this happen, we have been working closely with NPHCDA on recognising Nigeria’s vaccine certification, which we have now done.

“The UK remains committed to opening up international travel and enabling those who wish to enter the UK to do so safely.

“Vaccines work and — as the pandemic has shown — no one is safe until we are all safe. I would encourage all eligible people to get vaccinated.”

The statement further stated that those not fully vaccinated must comply with COVID-19 directives by taking a pre-departure COVID-19 test – to be taken in the 3 days before travel.

The traveller must also book and pay for day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 tests – to be taken after arriving in England and complete a passenger locator form — any time in the 48 hours before arrival.

On arrival, the UK authority said the traveller would need to quarantine for 10 days and take a pre-booked COVID-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8.