By Lamin Njie
State House said on Thursday an immediate decision has been taken to suspend flights coming into the country from 13 countries.
“The 4th Cabinet session chaired by President Adama Barrow has been updated on the COVID 19 situation in the country. An immediate decision was taken that flights from thirteen (13) countries are suspended with immediate effect until further notice,” State House said in a statement.
It comes two days after a first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the country – in the name of a woman that travelled into the country with the infection from UK.
The ban also comes as Gambians online continued to bash the Barrow government over its response to the crisis. Calls had already abounded for the country’s borders to be closed in a bid to stop the virus getting into The Gambia.
The ban on flights affects 13 countries, all of them in Europe with UK sitting at No 1. Other countries include Spain, France and Germany.
China, the country where the coronavirus originated from and where at least 80,000 people have been infected never made the 13-country list. China is a friend to The Gambia and one of its biggest development partners.
