29 cases of UK Covid-19 Variant Confirmed in Oyo, 5 Other States

The United Kingdom (UK) variant of COVID-19 has been confirmed in Nigeria, with 29 cases recorded in Oyo and five other states, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Chikwe Iheakwazu, who spoke during the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the covid-19 briefing in Abuja, applauded scientists at the Africa Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases at the Redeemers University in Ede, Osun State.

He stated that: “We have now confirmed a total of 29 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant and this has been confirmed in Edo, Kwara, Lagos, Osun, Oyo and FCT

“So we continue looking out for this and working towards mitigating any impact it might have on our response.”

Emphasising that it will continue to ramp up genomic sequencing and surveillance, the NCDC boss noted the dominant strain in South Africa – the B.1.351 variant was yet to be confirmed in the country.