The federal government of Nigeria has announced a July 8 resumption date for domestic flights in the country as it implements a further relaxation of the COVID-19 induced lockdown.
The resumption of local flights comes at a time when the West African nation is experiencing daily spike in the number of confirmed cases of the virus.
Authorities say airport in the capital city of Abuja and Lagos are scheduled to resume on July 8, Kano, Port Harcourt, Owerri and Maiduguri will restart on July 11 while others will start on July 15.
Government officials said that no definite timeframe has been decided for international flights. The state said a date will be announced in due course.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced 790 new cases of COVID-19 bringing the total confirmed cases to 26,484, 10,152 discharged patients and 603 deaths.
Officials have expressed concerns over the rising cases of the disease, fearing further escalation.
Government have consistently relaxed the lockdown measures introduced to stem the tide of the outbreak, believing the economic damage of a stringent lockdown could be worse than the harm done by the pandemic.
Source: CGTN Africa