*Number of countries banned from entering Nigeria now 15
*Ministry of Education shuts tertiary institutions, secondary, primary nationwide
The Federal Government has ordered the shutdown of three international airports in the country to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Musa Nuhu, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
He said the three airports include Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano; Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu; and the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa.
The three airports will be closed from March 21, 2020.
However, he said the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos would still be open but no flight operations will be allowed from the 13 COVID-19 (Coronavirus) high-risk countries.
The Federal Ministry of Education had earlier on Thursday ordered immediate closure of tertiary institutions, secondary and primary schools nationwide following the outbreak of Coronavirus in the country and as part of measures to contain the spread.
This was confirmed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Mr Sonny Echono.
According to Mr Echono, who gave the order on behalf of the Education Minister, Adamu Adamu, all 104 Unity Schools in the country would also close on or before the 26th of March, 2020 as a proactive step aimed at preventing the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus.
In the meantime, the Federal Government has follow up with its effort to curb the spread of the dangerous disease in the country by adding two more countries to the list of high risk countries.
The countries include Austria and Sweden.
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire made the announcement at a media briefing on Friday in Abuja.
“We have identified two more high risks countries – Austria and Sweden which were added in the past 24 hours to the list,” Ehanire said.
He added that there are now confirmed 12 cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria, out of which nine are in Lagos State.
The Federal Government had earlier on Wednesday issued a travel ban on 13 countries over the COVID-19 pandemic.
The affected countries are the United States of America, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Iran, Switzerland, Norway, Netherland, France, South Korea, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
The addition of two new countries increases the number of high-risk countries listed by the Federal Government to be 15.
