The United States and Canada yesterday evacuated 585 of its citizens. While 385 Americans were evacuated, Canada also evacuated 200 citizens in two separate flights operated by Ethiopian Airlines.
The Americans who were scheduled to be evacuated last Friday before the flight was turned back, following issues of flight permits in some West African countries included.
The Americans still left Nigeria despite the advisory by the Embassy that they would be responsible for their medical bill because health facilities in the United States (US) are currently overstretched at the moment due to the COVID-19.
Report shows that, the US remains the epicentre of the deadly coronavirus pandemic globally with close to 344,000 cases as at yesterday.
The United States Embassy in Nigeria stated that, evacuees will have to pay the cost of evacuation flights or sign a promissory note to repay the full cost of the seat for a one-way flight to a single destination in the US. also travellers may not be able to return to Nigeria untill the travel ban is lifted.
“If you evacuate to the United States, it is unlikely you will be able to return to Nigeria until the Nigerian government reopens the airports and commercial flights resume”.
Despite the advisory, the Americans left Nigeria around 5 pm yesterday.
Ethiopian Airlines also evacuated 200 Canadians from Lagos and Abuja to Addis Ababa en route Toronto, Canada with a B767 aircraft, which left the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) around 4 pm yesterday. With yesterday’s evacuation, the number of foreigners who have left Nigeria since the airports were closed to International traffic rose to 2,166.