Indian variant of COVID-19 discovered in Nigeria 3 weeks ago - NCDC
WHO classifies the B.1.617 variant as a global concern.
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The strain, first detected last year, has caused an unrelenting wave of infections and deaths that has plagued India and overwhelmed its national response especially over the past couple of weeks.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already classified the variant, already in dozens of countries, as a global concern.
The African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases reported this week that the variant has been detected in Nigeria, but the NCDC had failed to announce the discovery despite being informed weeks ago.
In response, NCDC director general, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said during an interview on Arise News on Thursday, May 13, 2021 that the government has everything under control.
He said the Federal Government has already restricted flights from India, and taken all responsible actions to protect Nigerians.
"The fact that the variant is in Nigeria is not in itself a reason for concern," he said.
Ihekweazu revealed in a tweet on Thursday that three cases of the variant have been detected in Nigeria, and urged members of the public to adhere to the safety measures recently announced by the government.
Nigeria has recorded over 165,000 COVID-19 cases since the first one was detected in March 2020.
Over 2,000 people have died, but over 156,000 people have also recovered from the novel virus first detected in China in December 2019.
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