Nigerian students ‘quarantined’ for failing to prove Ebola status in St Vincent

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) – At least two Nigerian students who arrived here last week without medical certificates to prove that they are not infected with the deadly Ebola virus, have been quarantined and will be repatriated.

“… because the students are from Nigeria, there are certain provisions that are put in place for entry, because there has not been an outright restriction,” Chief Immigration Officer Stanford Hamilton told the media earlier this week.

The Ministry of Health announced on September 1 that in order to prevent the entry of Ebola the country, persons travelling from Guinea, Sierra Leone or Liberia or those who have visited any of the aforementioned countries during a 28-day period will not be allowed entry.

Persons travelling from Nigeria or any other West African country or those who visited any of the aforementioned countries during a 28-day period must present upon entry at any port of entry a negative blood test result for Ebola – done not more than seven days prior to leaving their home country, in order to be allowed entry, the ministry said.

There are several Nigerian students enrolled at medical school here.

Hamilton said that two of the Nigerian students who arrived in the country had medical certificates but the others did not.

He said the students without the medical certificate were “quarantined in care of the school and have been visited by the Ministry of Health”.

The students were enrolled at All Saints University, “along with other universities,” he said.

The students were quarantined at an isolated apartment at the school and were visited by officials from the Ministry of Health, and will remain there until a flight is available for them to be repatriated, or until they are tested for the virus.