Nigeria to shut Lagos, Abuja international airports from Monday

Reuters
·1 min read

LAGOS, March 21 (Reuters) - Nigeria will close its two main international airports in the cities of Lagos and Abuja from Monday night, its civil aviation regulator said on Saturday, as the number of coronavirus cases in the country almost doubled.

The airports, which join three others around the country, will be shuttered for one month, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.

The closure comes as Nigeria's number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose on Saturday from 12 to 22, three of them in Abuja, the capital's first positive identifications.

"All airports in Nigeria are closed to all incoming international flights with the exception of emergency and essential flights," the authority said.

Nigeria said on Thursday it would close all schools and universities in the country due to coronavirus outbreak. (Reporting by Libby George in Lagos; Writing by Paul Carsten in Abuja; Editing by Alexander Smith)