Nigeria has confirmed three additional cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
It brings to six the number of cases reported in seven days, according to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) on Tuesday.
The agency, on December 1, announced the identification of three cases of the Omicron variant from travellers from South Africa through genomic sequencing of positive samples.
The additional cases were detected in persons with a travel history to South Africa in November.
The NCDC stressed that there is currently no evidence of community transmission of the Omicron variant in the country.
It urged Nigerians to get vaccinated to reduce transmission and to adhere to effective public health measures such as mask use, physical distancing, hand hygiene, and ensuring good ventilation.
“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 Delta variant remains the dominant variant and so far, we have not seen the replacement of this variant by the new Omicron variant as observed elsewhere.
“The Omicron variant is a source of global concern because of its increased risk of transmissibility and its potential to escape protective immune responses induced by natural infection and/or vaccination.
“Taken together, and if true, the Omicron variant can significantly change the current global COVID-19 epidemiology.
“There is currently no evidence of generalised or community transmission of this variant in Nigeria.
“However, the NCDC will continue coordinating and implementing genomic surveillance activities in-country to keep Nigerians reliably informed about existing variants, the Omicron and indeed other variants that may arise based on national data and emerging global evidence.”
It added: “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 cases of travellers from Nigeria with the Omicron variant.
“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 a history of travel to the UK.
“All viruses naturally mutate over time, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
“Since SARS-CoV-2 was first identified, several mutations have occurred with the emergence of new lineages.
“This will continue to happen as long as the world does not act in concert to significantly reduce transmission through vaccination and adherence to effective public health measures such as mask use, physical distancing, hand hygiene, and ensuring good ventilation.”
