{"id":4462,"date":"2020-03-20T17:05:06","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T16:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=4462"},"modified":"2020-03-20T17:06:26","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T16:06:26","slug":"nigeria-does-have-travel-bans-quarantine-measures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/nigeria-does-have-travel-bans-quarantine-measures\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria Does Have Travel Bans & Quarantine Measures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A WhatsApp message resembling an NCDC circular says Nigeria has not placed a travel ban or provided quarantine measures for travellers from countries with coronavirus cases.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As at when the message was received, Nigeria was yet to establish travel restrictions; it has since so imposed said restrictions on 13 high-risk countries. Also, contrary to the claim, there are and have always been quarantine measures for migrants into the country.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Text<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On March 8, Dubawa received a WhatsApp message concerning Nigeria\u2019s preparedness for containing the spread of coronavirus in the country. It states that the country has not placed a travel ban; further suggesting the unavailability of quarantine measures for travellers from countries with coronavirus cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The broadcast message resembles a press statement from the NCDC – Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, trying to dispel misinformation in the public space. But is it from NCDC?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verification<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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WhatsApp Message<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Save for the highlighted spelling errors, the message content and presentation suggests it originates from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). However, when Dubawa checked NCDC\u2019s website, we found nothing of the sort. Nonetheless, the unorthodox method of this falsehood gets an A for effort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it is paramount to note that the centre does debunk<\/a> claims<\/a> related to the pandemic, we are confident this broadcast- \u2018circulating misinformation\u2019<\/em>–<\/strong> was not one of them. Honestly, besides boldfaced attribution, what ties it to the NCDC? There are no watermarks or logos, and does the institution send broadcast WhatsApp messages?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, this could be one of those messages<\/a> that attributes its claims to authoritative bodies to gain prominence<\/a>. While the information in its first paragraph is a bit confusing, we have resorted to verifying the two communicated ideas. \u201cTravel Ban and Quarantine measures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has Nigeria issued a travel ban on migrants from countries with coronavirus cases?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Recently, Nigeria imposed a travel ban<\/a> on 13 high-risk countries for the coronavirus. The authorities announced this on March 18. This restriction would prevent entry from: <\/p>\n\n\n\n