Concerns Regarding The New Covid-19 Variations Have Nigeria On High Alert.
At a news conference held yesterday in Abuja, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) announced that over 663 million confirmed cases and over 6.7 million fatalities had been documented internationally.
Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, the director general of the NCDC, stated: “Over three million new cases and 10,000 fatalities have been recorded globally in the week of December 26, 2022 to January 1, 2023. This reflects a weekly decrease in cases and fatalities of 22% and 14%, respectively.
The African Region reported that new cases and fatalities were down 73% and 32% from the prior week, respectively.
“There has been a 74% and 29% rise in cases and a 49% and 35% increase in fatalities, respectively, across the Americas and Western Pacific (including China). The wintertime worsening of respiratory sickness contributes in part to the rise in these nations.
According to Adetifa, the COVID-19 revival in China, which followed the easing of the nation’s zero-COVID policy and the expected rise in cases, hospitalizations, and fatalities, also raises worries about the potential introduction of new varieties.
According to him, the most common varieties in circulation in China are BA.5.2 and Bf.7. He claims that since 2022, these variations have been spreading over the globe, including Nigeria.
The Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.5, which was first discovered in New York in October 2022, is likewise becoming increasingly prevalent in the United States and Europe and has been found in more than 25 nations. Although the XBB.1.5 strain of Omicron is the most contagious, it is unclear if it is more virulent than its predecessor.
According to the epidemiologist, Nigeria’s NCDC has examined 5,708,974 samples, confirmed 266,463 cases, discharged 259,850 patients, and tragically reported 3,155 fatalities throughout 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to him, COVID-19 had and is still following a distinct epidemiological trajectory in Nigeria and the majority of Africa, with fewer Omicron sub-lineage cases, admissions, and fatalities.
