Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola, has communicated to the UK government his testing negative to Covid-19, following the recent shutting down of the Nigerian mission in the UK after two officials tested positive to the pandemic.
Ambassador Ishafa revealed the development in a message entitled Compliance with the new NHS regulations on COVID-19 made available to newsmen. He said the result of a PCR test he took on Saturday, August 14, 2021, he received on Sunday, August, 15, was negative.
“A copy of my negative test result and evidence of my two jabs (full vaccination) has been forwarded to the Head of Chancery for the records and accreditation into the Mission on Wednesday 18th August 2021, in line with the new regulations of the host Government,” he stated.
The high commission was shut on for 10 days by the mission, “in order to observe the mandatory isolation of those who were in contact with the affected officials.”
In the update released by Ambassador Ishola, he stated: “The Head of Chancery brought to our knowledge the new regulations by the NHS regarding close contact with COVID-19 positively tested person in the UK, with effect from 16th August 2021. “Responsible, transparent and accountable leadership demands the compliance of the High Commissioner with immediate effect.
“Consequently, I took a PCR test on Saturday -14th August and received a negative test result on Sunday, 15th August 2021. “A copy of my negative test result and evidence of my two jabs (full vaccination) has been forwarded to the Head of Chancery for the records and accreditation into the Mission on Wednesday 18th August 2021, in line with the new regulations of the host Government.
“As law-abiding citizens, I enjoined you to ensure strict compliance with the regulations.”
A statement titled, Closure of Nigerian High Commission, London, issued in the wake of the incident had read: “This afternoon, the Head of Immigration Section and two other officials went for a meeting at the Home Office.
“At the entrance, COVID-19 test was administered on them and one of them tested positive to COVID-19. The affected officer was immediately isolated while the other officials, who tested negative will also isolate for the next 10 days.
“In response to this challenge, the Mission embarked on testing all officials of the Mission, after which another official of the Mission tested positive.”