Top Nigerian University Sends Students Home Over Virus Fears

One of Nigeria's largest universities on Thursday sent residential students home and said it would suspend physical attendance of lectures as fears grow over a new wave of coronavirus in Africa's most populous nation

Lagos, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Jul, 2021 ) :One of Nigeria's largest universities on Thursday sent residential students home and said it would suspend physical attendance of lectures as fears grow over a new wave of coronavirus in Africa's most populous nation.

Nigeria has not been as hard-hit by the pandemic as other parts of Africa, recording around 169,000 cases and 2,125 deaths in a population of some 200 million.

But the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said it had detected the more contagious Delta variant of the virus, putting officials nationwide on alert.

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) reported a surge in the number of Covid diagnoses at its medical centre in the sprawling city of over 20 million inhabitants.

"To check the spread of Covid-19 on campus, the university senate has directed that all students vacate the halls of residence latest by 12.00 noon on Thursday 15 July 2021," it said in a statement.

Lectures will be delivered virtually from July 26 in line with social and physical distance guidelines, it said.

Last week, Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu urged residents to comply with Covid protocols as he warned of a third pandemic wave.

Lagos, the country's commercial capital, has been the epicentre of Nigeria's outbreak, accounting for more than a third of the nationwide total.

"The UNILAG community has also been affected by this potential 3rd wave, with an increase in the number of patients presented to the UNILAG medical centre with flu-like symptoms which are similar to COVID-19," the school said.

"The medical centre hereby assures all members of the university community, that all necessary actions in line with the Federal and Lagos state government guidelines have been taken regarding this potential threat in our community," it said.

Established in 1962, UNILAG is one of the country's oldest universities. with a student population of around 55,000.

Nigeria has barred passengers who are not citizens or permanent residents from entering the country if they have been in South Africa in the past 14 days over coronavirus concerns.

The decision announced last month comes almost two months after similar restrictions were imposed on travellers coming from Brazil, India and Turkey, sparked by the rise of more virulent Covid strains.