The advice came from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control in its latest COVID-19 situation report on Sunday, as the Lagos State Government promised to clamp down on violators of mandatory testing for foreign inbound travelers.

In separate interviews with The PUNCH, authorities from states including Bauchi, Ogun, and Kano announced this week that they will step up efforts to guarantee compliance with safety regulations and mass immunization.

COVID-19 cases in the country increased by 761.45% in two weeks, according to the report.

In light of the rising number of illnesses, the Nigerian Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) encouraged Nigerians to avoid non-essential foreign and domestic travel throughout the Christmas season.

Between November 21 and December 4, 1,035 cases of the virus were reported in the country.

In its most recent report, the NCDC verified that 845 passengers tested positive in less than a week.

According to the disease control agency, the number of travelers who test positive for the coronavirus both at the point of entry and at the point of departure has continued to rise in the country.

While 235 travelers tested positive in epidemiological week 48, the number of positive passengers climbed to 845 in week 49, according to the agency.

The omicron, according to the NCDC, can cause a variety of additional alterations.

It said, “The spread of COVID-19 variants of concern including the Omicron variant may lead to a surge in cases globally due to mutations which could give the SARS-CoV-2 virus a specific advantage such as increased transmissibility, the possibility of more severe illness or evasion of tests currently used for the detection of COVID-19.

“Importantly, this holiday season, we advise everyone to avoid non-essential travel, both international and national while research is ongoing to better understand Omicron and its impact on the national and global response to COVID-19.”

The center also noted that the country had continued to speed up testing. For instance, it stated that there was an increase in the number of test samples from week 48 to week 49.

“In Week 49, the number of samples tested increased to 62,537 from 51,345 reported in week 48. These were reported in 36 states and FCT”.

According to the PUNCH, a total of 3,686,403 tests have been performed thus far.

The Omicron variant has increased the number of cases all across the world. The World Health Organization continues to call for enhanced immunization and awareness as several nations enter the fourth wave of the epidemic.

The Lagos State Government stated on Sunday that it was on the lookout for arriving travelers who had skipped necessary COVID-19 testing to stop the virus from spreading.

To win the fight against COVID-19, the state stated it will tighten entrance procedures at the airport.

In an interview with the state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso said the state would also penalize inbound travelers who disobeyed the COVID-19 safety regulations.

He said, “Recall that recently, the governor issued a statement and guidelines that we have to follow to win the war against COVID-19. He urged Lagosians to join hands with him to defeat the fourth wave, as we have done in the three previous waves.

“We are trying as much as possible to work with the Federal Government to tighten entry formalities at the airport. This virus is believed to be coming from abroad, especially the new Omicron variant. We are trying as much as possible to ensure that people coming in don’t just walk into Lagos without obeying the formalities. They have to go through the second-day and seven-day tests. Some of those who are trying to beat this protocol; I assure you that they will face justice.

“The state government is trying to gather them and move them to the court so that they can have the necessary punishment which is quite explicit in all our guidelines.

“We are ensuring that people who will have events around this time don’t fill more than 50 or 60 percent of the space they have; people have to show they are vaccinated and above all, we are stepping up advocacy. We have a program that we call count me in, under which we want to vaccinate four million Lagosians before the end of this month. We increased vaccination points so that people will say they are not seeing vaccination points and that is why they are not getting vaccinated.”

Mass vaccination: Kano targets 15 million residents

In Kano State, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje on Sunday inaugurated mass vaccination, with a target to vaccinate 15 million residents of the state.

This was contained in a press statement by Abba Anwar, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ganduje, and issued to newsmen in Kano on Sunday.

According to the statement, the exercise took place at Coronation Hall, Government House, Kano.