Canada detects 2 cases of Omicron COVID from Nigeria, NCDC says no cases in Nigeria yet

29 Nov Canada detects 2 cases of Omicron COVID from Nigeria, NCDC says no cases in Nigeria yet

As the Omicron coronavirus variant spread around the world on Sunday,

Canada has confirmed two cases of Omicron COVID variant in two individuals who recently travelled from Nigeria.

But the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said also yesterday that although it is monitoring emerging evidence on Omicron variant and its implication, the variant has so far not been detected in Nigeria. The NCDC reported 110 new cases on Sunday, from 58 on Saturday

In a statement, Ministry of Health in Ontairo, Canada said Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management.

“Today, the province of Ontario has confirmed two cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Ottawa, both of which were reported in individuals with recent travel from Nigeria”, the ministry said.

“In addition to the measures recently announced, we continue to urge the federal government to take the necessary steps to mandate point-of-arrival testing for all travellers irrespective of where they’re coming from to further protect against the spread of this new variant.”

Federal Health Minister, Jean-Yves Duclos, also confirmed Canada’s first two cases, saying he was working with the province’s public health officials to contact trace the cases.

“As the monitoring and testing continues with provinces and territories, it is expected that other cases of this variant will be found in Canada,” Duclos said in a statement.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said genomic monitoring, as well as border surveillance, identified the cases.

The agency said early data suggest the Omicron variant may be more transmissible than earlier iterations of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The NCDC noted in a statement on Sunday night that, while a number of cases have now been reported in the UK, Israel, Botswana, Hong-Kong, Germany, Belgium, Italy and so on, the variant has so far not been detected in Nigeria,

Director-General Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, said the centre is prioritising sequencing of recently accrued samples from SARS-COV-2 positive travellers from all countries, especially those from countries that have reported the Omicron variant already.

He urged all States to ensure that sample collection and testing are accessible, so that travelers and people with symptoms or who have been exposed to COVID-19 cases get tested promptly.

“However, the fears about its ability to evade protective immune responses and/or its being vaccine resistant are only theoretical so far.

“This virus can still be detected with existing Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests.

“The WHO and researchers across the world are working at speed to gain understanding of the likely impact of this variant on the severity of COVID-19 and on the potency of existing vaccines and therapeutics,” he added.

* Britain said it will convene an urgent meeting of G7 health ministers on Monday to discuss the developments.

* Dutch health authorities said 13 cases of the variant were found among people on two flights that arrived in Amsterdam from South Africa on Friday. Authorities had tested all of the more than 600 passengers on the flights and found 61 coronavirus cases, going on to test those for Omicron.

*The Indonesian government says it will ban travellers from Nigeria and seven other African countries over concerns about the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

* Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday his country would consider further tightening its borders as the newly discovered Omicron coronavirus variant spreads around the world.

“We are (taking measures) with a strong sense of crisis,” Kishida told reporters, noting that Japan closed its borders to foreigners travelling from nine countries including South Africa as of Sunday.

* The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was not yet clear whether Omicron, first detected in Southern Africa, is more transmissible than other variants, or if it causes more severe disease. Putting in place travel bans that target Africa attacks global solidarity, the WHO has said through its regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti.

* South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday that his government was considering imposing compulsory COVID-19 shots for people in certain places and activities, and he slammed rich Western countries for what he called their knee-jerk imposition of travel bans.

“The prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant,” Ramaphosa said. “The only thing (it) … will do is to further damage the economies of the affected countries and undermine their ability to respond to … the pandemic.”

* Nigeria Caseload: The NCDC reported 110 new cases, 70 recoveries and one death on Sunday. So far, Nigeria has confirmed 214,092 infections, 207,254 recoveries and 2976 deaths

The states with new cases are Lagos (27), Katsina (23), Rivers (20), Ondo (11), Kaduna (9), FCT (6), Oyo (6), Plateau (3), Osun (2), Ekiti (1), Gombe (1), and Zamfara (1)