Nigeria records first case of Omicron variant of Covid-19

Nigeria has recorded its first case of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 which was recently discovered in South Africa.

The revelation was made by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) which confirmed two cases of COVID-19 Omicron variant in the country.

This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the NCDC Director-General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa who noted the two cases were discovered through genomic sequencing.

According to the NCDC DG, these cases were discovered in two passengers who came into the country from South Africa, adding that the patients were asymptomatic and contact tracing had begun.

Read also: OMICRON: Reps charge COVID-19 Task Force, NCDC to intensify surveillance in Nigeria

”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”, he added.

This discovery came in the wake of a ban on the country by Canada after two Nigerian travellers were detected with the variant.

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