Omicron: Saudi Arabia Bans Foreign Travellers From Nigeria

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has added Nigeria to its red list as a result of Omicron variant of the COVID-19 disease.

According to report,  several sources in the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Kano as well as officials at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, MAKIA, confirmed the development.

Since the Kingdom lifted the ban on Nigerian flights, many people, especially from Kano, have visited the country for lesser Hajj, while others are waiting for their scheduled dates to go. But this new order definitely hampers travelling to Saudi Arabia.

Nigeria currently has six confirmed cases of Omicron virus.

The Omicron variant is a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first reported to the World Health Organization, WHO, from South Africa on 24 November 2021. On 26 November 2021, the WHO designated it as a variant of concern and named it after omicron, the fifteenth letter in the Greek alphabet.