The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed the first cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in the country. Director-General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, who disclosed this in a statement in Abuja, said that two cases of the variant were discovered through genomic sequencing and linked the cases to two passengers from South Africa. “Genomic sequencing of positive cases from routine day two testing for travellers to Nigeria identified two cases of Omicron variant among travellers 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”. Omicron variant, a new strain of the coronavirus disease, was reported by South Africa and first detected in Botswana.

Source: The Guardian December 01, 2021 06:27 UTC