Today, Nigeria recorded the first cases of the Omicron variant also known as B.1.1.529 lineage.

On Wednesday the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) made this known in a statement signed by the Director-General, Ifedayo Adetifa.

According to NCDC, genomic sequencing was used to discover the two cases of the Omicron variant.

NCDC stated that “In line with the routine travel tests required of all international travellers and genomic sequencing at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control through its National Reference Laboratory, Abuja, it confirms Nigeria’s first case of the Omicron variant.”

In Africa, World Health Organization (WHO) is working with countries to increase pathogen surveillance through genome sequencing to detect and respond effectively to COVID-19 variants. In 2020, WHO and the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention established a COVID-19 sequencing laboratory network in Africa which has to date produced over 43 000 sequencing data.

Positive cases from routine day two testing from Genomic sequencing for travellers to Nigeria established the two cases of Omicron variant from South African travellers to Nigeria.

South African scientists are at the moment working on the Omicron variant, CNN reports today it visited the lab where scientists were working.

Recall on Monday, the Canadian government reported that it found out cases of the Omicron variant from two Nigerian travellers.

The NCDC today said, effort has been geared up toward curtail the spread of the Omicron variant