Nigeria reopens 14 airports after recording more than 40,000 COVID-19 cases

Nigeria has re-opened 14 airports, months after recording more than 40,000 COVID-19 cases, and 858 deaths, according to a news report by Daily Nation.

Since the index case on February 27, the country has witnessed a steady rise in infections despite efforts to curtail the spread of the virus, including the closure of all airports and a general lockdown.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed an additional 555 cases and two deaths on June 26, lifting total infections to 40,532 and fatalities to 858 from Friday's figures of 39,977 and 856.

People in the country now averaging more than 500 cases a day have been crossing into and out of states without adhering to protocols.

Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika has said that the airports are open for full domestic operations, hence ministerial approval into and out of them is not required.

"This includes private and charter operations. We will keep you informed on the remaining airports in due course," he said.

Sirika added that the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja were approved for domestic operations on July 8.

The other airports are located in Kano, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Maiduguri, Uyo, Kaduna, Yola, Calabar, Sokoto, Birnin Kebbi, Jos and Benin.