Passengers are waiting to board international flights, despite the spread of the new SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron, at O.R. REUTERS Sumaya Hisham
ABUJA, December 1, Reuters -- Nigeria said on Wednesday it had confirmed its first cases of the Omicron COVID 19 variant, among which was a sample from travellers who came to Nigeria in October, suggesting it had turned up weeks before it was reported in southern Africa.
The Omicron variant was found among the sample collected in October 2021, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control NCDC in a statement.
It didn't give any details about the traveller.
Omicron first reported in Southern Africa a week ago, highlighted the disparity between massive vaccination pushes in rich nations and sparse inoculation in the developing world.
The NCDC said another two cases of the Omicron COVID 19 variant were from two travellers who arrived from South Africa last week.
The NCDC said that it is important to put in place measures to curb community transmission because of the highly likely increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant.
Data from other countries shows that the variant was circulating before it was officially identified in southern Africa and has been detected in more than a dozen countries. It will take weeks to establish if it is more infectious, deadly or evades vaccines. The announcement by the NCDC came ahead of a meeting between South African President Cyril Rampahosa and his Nigerian counterpart Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Wednesday, when Omicron is likely to be discussed.
Ramaphosa says that travel restrictions on countries in southern Africa are unjustified and hurts developing nations.