The Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) on Wednesday morning confirmed the first cases of the Omicron variant in the country.
The NCDC said this in a press release signed by the Director-General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa.
The agency said two cases of the variant were discovered through genomic sequencing of positive cases from routine day-two testing for travelers arriving Nigeria. It said that the two patients are travelers from South Africa who arrived Nigeria last week.
According to the NCDC, the two patients are asymptomatic (they are not showing symptoms). The agency said it has begun contact tracing.
Meanwhile, the Canadian government had said that it discovered two cases of the variant from two passengers from Nigeria.
The Federal Government through the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, however, said that it was investigating the issue to get more details.
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The statement reads in part, “In line with the routine travel tests required of all international travelers, genomic sequencing at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control through its National Reference Laboratory, Abuja, confirms Nigeria’s first case of the Omicron variant.
“Genomic sequencing of positive cases from routine day-two testing for travelers to Nigeria identified two cases of Omicron variant among travelers from South Africa who arrived in Nigeria last week.
“Retrospective sequencing of previously confirmed cases among travelers to Nigeria also identified the Omicron variant among samples collected in October 2021.”
The South African doctor who was the first to alert authorities about the Covid-19 omicron variant has said that the symptoms of the new variant are “unusual but mild.”
Scientists say that Omicron, which was first identified in Botswana on November 11, is the most mutated form Covid-19 with 32 mutations to the spike protein.
The UK, US, the EU and Israel have imposed travel ban to and from South Africa including Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
