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Omicron Covid

FG to restrict airlines from UK, Saudi Arabia in response to Omicron travel ban

iDeemlawful December 12, 2021

iDeemlawful

The federal government says it will restrict airlines coming from Canada, United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia into Nigeria from Tuesday, December 14.

Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, who disclosed this on Sunday in Lagos, explained that it was to reciprocate the travel ban placed on Nigeria over the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron.

Sirika said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration would also place the United Kingdom, Canada, and Saudi Arabia on a red list over the outbreak and spread of the Omicron variant.

The UK had announced that non-UK and non-Irish citizens travelling in from Nigeria will not be allowed entry into the country following the cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant reported in Nigeria.

Saudi Arabia had also imposed a temporary ban on flights from Nigeria over the increasing number of omicron variant cases.

On its part, Canada also banned travels from Nigeria and nine other African countries over omicron variant concerns. According to NAN, the minister noted that if those countries placed Nigeria on a red list, they do not have the moral right to have their airlines fly into Nigeria on commercial operations.

There is also the case of Saudi Arabia that put Nigeria on the ban list. On Sunday, I participated in a meeting with the COVID-19 task force,” NAN quoted the minister as saying.“

We have given our input that it is not acceptable by us, and we recommended that those Canada, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and Argentina also be put on the red list.“

As they did to us if they do not allow our citizens into their countries; who are they coming, as airlines, to pick from our country?

“They are not supposed to come in. I am very sure in the next three days; Monday or Tuesday, all those countries will be put on the red list of COVID-19.”

He stressed that airlines of the affected countries remained banned and the countries placed on Nigeria’s red list.Sirika apologised to Nigerians intending to travel to those countries but said the Nigerian government’s decision was in the interest of the country.

December 12, 2021 0 comments

U.S. Confirms First Case of Omicron Variant of COVID-19

iDeemlawful December 2, 2021

iDeemlawful

The United States of America has confirmed its first case of the infectious Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus on Wednesday.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified confirmed the case in California, according to President Biden’s Chief Medical Adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Dr Fauci stated that the patient travelled from South Africa to San Francisco, California.

He added that the patient, though experiencing only “mild symptoms”, was fully vaccinated.

He said, “The individual was a traveller who returned from South Africa on November 22 and tested positive on November 29.

The individual is self-quarantining and all close contacts have been contacted and all close contacts, thus far, have tested negative.“

The individual was fully vaccinated and experienced mild symptoms, which are improving at this point.”

So this is the first confirmed case of Covid-19 caused by the Omicron variant detected in the United States.”

December 2, 2021 0 comments

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COVID-19: Omicron Variant Now in 23 Countries, WHO

iDeemlawful December 2, 2021

iDeemlawful

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says cases of the new Omicron variant have been reported in at least 23 countries in five of the six WHO regions.WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, disclosed on Wednesday in Geneva and said that the number of cases was expected to grow.

“WHO takes this development extremely seriously, and so should every country,” he told journalists listening in to the agency’s regular virtual briefing on COVID-19.

“But it should not surprise us. This is what viruses do. And it’s what this virus will continue to do, as long as we allow it to continue spreading,” he said.Preliminary evidence suggests Omicron may have “potential immune escape” and or possibly higher transmissibility, when compared to previous variants of concern, according to WHO’s latest weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19, also released on Wednesday.

He said experts were learning more about the variant, “but there’s still more to learn about its effect on transmission, severity of disease, and the effectiveness of tests, therapeutics and vaccines.

”The WHO chief urged countries to take “rational, proportional risk-reduction measures”, including those aimed at delaying or reducing spread, such as screening passengers or implementing quarantines for international travellers.

However, he stressed that “blanket travel bans would not prevent international spread of Omicron and they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods.”

Ghebreyesus emphasised the need to continue public health measures against coronavirus spread and ensure high-risk and vulnerable people are fully vaccinated.

He warned that the current “toxic mix” of low vaccine coverage, and very low testing are a recipe for breeding and amplifying variants.“

We need to use the tools we already have to prevent transmission and save lives from Delta.

“And if we do that, we will also prevent transmission and save lives from Omicron. But if countries and individuals don’t do what they need to do to stop transmission of Delta, they won’t stop Omicron either,” he said.

As of Tuesday, there were more than 261 million confirmed cases of the COVID-19 globally, and 5.2 million deaths, with the Delta variant continuing to dominate.

Meanwhile, the director-general said agreement by countries to launch a process to develop a new global accord on pandemic prevention and response was cause for hope.

Ghebreyesus welcomed the consensus decision reached during a special session of the World Health Assembly (WHA), the UN agency’s top decision-making body, attended by representatives from its 194 member-states.

EXPLAINER: What You need to know about Omicron, new COVID ‘variant of concern’

The three-day meeting began on Monday with the sole goal of considering the benefits of creating a new international agreement on pandemic prevention preparedness and how best to avoid the pitfalls that have marred an effective response to COVID-19.

This marked only the second time the assembly has met in a special session since WHO was founded in 1948.

“The adoption of this decision is cause for celebration, and cause for hope, which we will need,” he said in his closing remarks, though noting the road ahead was long.

“There are still differences of opinion about what a new accord could or should contain. But you have proven to each other and the world that differences can be overcome, and common ground can be found.”

The decision will establish an Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) that will negotiate and draft any convention, agreement or other international instrument.

A first meeting will take place no later than March 1, 2022 and public hearings will also be held to inform deliberations.The INB will deliver a progress report to the World Health Assembly in 2023 and submit its outcome for consideration the following year. (NAN)

December 2, 2021 0 comments

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Omicron: NCDC Analysing Travellers From Countries With Confirmed Cases

iDeemlawful November 30, 2021

iDeemlawful

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said it was analysing outbound and inbound travelers from countries with confirmed cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19.

NCDC’s Director-General, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, said this at the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) briefing on COVID-19 on Monday in Abuja.

Adetifa noted that the agency would continue to sequence positive samples from the cases and ensure quick communication with the public. “The NCDC will continue to work with the Federal Ministry of Health Ports of Entry team to ensure that inbound and outbound travellers are tested and compliant with protocol.“

Towards the Christmas period, please do avoid all non-essential travel and take the precautions, which will, indeed, save even just one life.

“Your life is important and so are our loved ones and strangers,” he said.

Adetifa said most Nigerians would be thinking of the new variant and the potential impact it would have on travel, holiday plans and the national response till date.He reiterated the need for public health and social measures in the country, adding that COVID-19 was real and harmful.Adetifa said in spite of the high recovery rate, COVID-19 had caused painful and needless loss of lives, particularly among the elderly and more vulnerable.

He said its worldwide spread and ongoing devastation, resulting in full Intensive Care Units in some countries; case surges, reintroduction of lockdowns and more, was indication enough that it was not business as usual.According to him, Nigerians must reemphasise the priority of wearing face masks.“

I know there is pandemic fatigue.

“It has been very long, over 20 months since the declaration of the pandemic, and this can cause fatigue to anyone.“

I commend Nigerians for bearing the pandemic as they have done, and continuing to make ends meet and continue life with hope amid hardships.

“However, I also acknowledge that we can and must do much better with adherence to public health and social measures,” he said.

Adetifa said the reason why a face mask was worn was to protect oneself from the potential air droplets that might be transmitted from person to person when speaking, singing etc.He said sometimes it was difficult to tell when someone was infected as the virus could, at times, be present without symptoms.

“For hand hygiene, proof of its importance reaches as far back as Ignac Semmelweis, who is considered the Father of hygiene.“

High maternal mortality was reversed through his observational studies.

“These studies revealed that unwashed hands of doctors who had done autopsies on cadavers and then proceeded to deliver children of mothers in labour were responsible for high mortality rate.“

This was over two centuries ago.

“We now have even more advanced scientific knowledge to detect viruses which can be transmitted through improper hand hygiene,” he said.

The director-general said, those privileged who had the means, should make sure they used clean water and soap to stay safe.

“Please, please, do use this simple means of keeping your health intact.“When you frequently touch surfaces, shake others people’s hands, etc, do wash your hands or use alcohol-based hand sanitiser if water is unavailable,” he said.

Adetifa encouraged Nigerians to be their brothers’ keepers, look out for those without access to clean water, soap and hand sanitisers, educate and where possible, support them with needed supplies.

Regarding large gatherings without social measures, he warned that those must stop as they pose a huge risk to the lives of loved ones with co-morbidities, older loved ones, strangers whose complications they were unaware of and of course, the gains the country had made so far in the pandemic.

Adetifa added that the COVID-19 Health Protection Regulations 2021, signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari earlier in the year were, indeed, valid.

He noted that the COVID-19 vaccines were available.“

We will not fail to let you know that they are safe and effective and that they do reduce the risk of severe disease and eventual death.

“Where you find out that you have been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, please do safely, ensure that you are tested.“We will continue to ensure that laboratories are sustained, available for testing and conveniently accessed,” he said.

The News Agency Of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Omicron variant was first identified from testing done on Nov. 9 in Botswana on travellers from West Africa.It was reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) on identification of cases among a cluster of young unvaccinated people in South Africa on Nov.

24.While this variant has so far not been detected in Nigeria, a number of cases have now been reported in the UK, Israel, Botswana, Hong-Kong, Germany, Belgium, Italy and counting.

However, no deaths have been attributed to this new variant yet.

A total of 126 genomes of this variant have been detected globally and published on GISAID. (GISAID is a global mechanism for sharing sequencing data). The SARS-CoV-2 variant has now been designated a variant of concern (VOC) and named; Omicron by the WHO, as advised by the independent Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE). (NAN)

November 30, 2021 0 comments

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EXPLAINER: What You need to know about Omicron, new COVID ‘variant of concern’

iDeemlawful November 27, 2021

iDeemlawful

South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) announced the discovery of the new variant, B.1.1.529 — with 22 positive cases of the strain detected in the country.

After a meeting of the technical advisory group on SARS-CoV-2 virus evolution (TAG-VE), an independent group of experts that periodically monitors and evaluates COVID-19 evolution, the World Health Organisation (WHO) named the new variant “Omicron” and designated it a ‘variant of concern’ (VOC) because of its “concerning” number of mutations.

Scientists are working to unravel more details about the variant. But here are a few things we do know about the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

WHEN AND WHERE WAS IT FIRST DETECTED?

According to the NICD, the variant was first identified on November 23 from Lancet samples collected from Gauteng that showed different results in the PCR. These samples were taken from November 14 to November 16. It is, however, not clear where the variant originated from.

WHERE HAS THE VARIANT BEEN DETECTED?

Currently, the Omicron variant has been detected in six countries — 83 cases in South Africa, six in Botswana, two in Hong Kong, two in the United Kingdom, and one each in Israel and Belgium.

WHY SO MUCH CONCERN ABOUT IT?

All viruses — including SARS-CoV-2, that cause COVID-19 — change over time (mutate). Though most of these changes have little or no impact on their properties, some may affect how easily they spread, their severity, or the performance of vaccines against them.

What worries scientists is that the Omicron variant has 32 mutations, some of which are novel, in the spike protein — the part that allows the virus to penetrate host cells and cause infection. These mutations are double that of the Delta variant, the dominant and most infectious COVID-19 variant so far.

These mutations in the spike protein not only affect the virus’s ability to infect cells and spread — it also make it harder for immune cells to attack the pathogen and make it so much different from the original coronavirus that current COVID vaccines were designed to combat.

DOES INFECTION WITH OMICRON VARIANT GIVE DIFFERENT SYMPTOMS?

There are currently no reports of unusual symptoms following infection with the Omicron variant, and as with other variants, some individuals are asymptomatic.

IS IT MORE TRANSMISSIBLE?

Although it is not yet clear just how transmissible it is, in recent weeks, infections have increased in South Africa steeply, coinciding with the detection of the Omicron variant.In a press conference on Thursday, Joe Phaahla, South Africa’s health minister, said, “over the last four or five days, there has been more of an exponential rise,” adding that the new variant appears to be driving the spike in cases.

COVID-19 cases in the country rose by the start of this week — with most of these cases from Gauteng province.

Preliminary evidence also suggested an increased risk of re-infection with the variant compared to other variants of concern.

HOW CAN IT BE DETECTED?

Thankfully, current SARS-CoV-2 PCR diagnostics are able to detect this variant and it is relatively easy to distinguish from the Delta variant. Several labs have indicated that for one widely used PCR test, one of the three target genes is not detected (called S gene dropout or S gene target failure) and this test can therefore be used as marker for this variant, pending sequencing confirmation.

Using this approach, this variant has been detected at faster rates than previous surges in infection.HOW

EFFECTIVE ARE COVID-19 VACCINES AGAINST OMICRON?

The variant was only just recently detected, there is little data on how it behaves in the real world.South Africa’s health minister said he expects the existing vaccines to still offer protection against severe illness and death from the new variant, even if they might be less effective at preventing infections and milder disease.

BioNTech, which developed one of the most commonly used COVID-19 vaccines together with Pfizer, said it would take about two weeks to establish whether the new variant renders its shot less effective. They added that they could produce a new vaccine adjusted to any variant within six weeks and ship initial batches within 100 days.

Moderna also said it was testing three existing COVID-19 vaccine booster candidates against the Omicron variant, and that it would develop a new variant-specific booster against it.

November 27, 2021 0 comments