The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed
three additional cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant in Nigeria.
According to a statement by Ifedayo Adetifa, NCDC director-general
on Tuesday, the new cases were detected in individuals with recent travel
history to South Africa.
The announcement comes days after the NCDC announced the
detection of three cases of the new variant.
“The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed three (3) more cases of COVID-19 with the B.1.1.529 SARS-CoV-2 lineage, i.e., the Omicron variant, in Nigeria. In addition to the three cases announced earlier on 1st December 2021, this brings the total number of confirmed cases of the Omicron variant detected in Nigeria to six (6),” the statement reads.
“All the Omicron
cases so far were detected in persons with recent travel history to South
Africa in November.
“The NCDC through the National Reference Laboratory (NRL)
continues to coordinate genomic surveillance activities across the country to
sequence all positive COVID-19 samples from international travellers arriving
in Nigeria. This includes sequencing of positive samples from international
travellers from October 2021 to date.”
The agency said it had been notified by the UK government of
seven cases of travellers from Nigeria who tested positive for the variant.
“In line with Article
44 of the International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR) reporting framework, the
Federal Government of Nigeria through the NCDC has also been notified by the UK
Government of seven (7) cases of travellers from Nigeria with the Omicron
variant,” the statement reads.
“Given the reports of increasing numbers of Omicron cases in
the UK, the NCDC is also prioritising the sequencing of COVID-19 positive
samples in travellers with history of travel to the UK.”
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