{"id":47076,"date":"2021-12-01T07:24:01","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T07:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=47076"},"modified":"2021-12-01T07:24:01","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T07:24:01","slug":"nigeria-confirms-first-cases-of-omicron-variant-covid-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=47076","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria confirms first cases of Omicron variant: COVID Live"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nigeria confirmed its first cases of the new Omicron COVID-19 variant as countries tightened restrictions on international travel in an attempt to slow its spread.<\/p>\n

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said two cases of the new mutation were detected among two travellers who arrived from South Africa last week.<\/p>\n

The announcement came as Ugur Sahin, the CEO of COVID-19 vaccine-maker BioNTech, said<\/a> that while the Omicron variant could lead to more vaccinated people becoming infected, they would likely remain protected against severe illness.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a panel of US health advisers narrowly backed a closely watched COVID-19 pill from Merck which could lead to authorisation later this week.<\/p>\n

Scientists have been scrambling to learn more about the effects of the Omicron variant<\/a>, first detected in South Africa last week.<\/p>\n

It remains unclear where or when the variant first emerged. But nations have rushed to impose travel restrictions<\/a>, especially on visitors coming from Southern Africa, despite the World Health Organization\u2019s call for \u201crational\u201d measures in response to the new strain.<\/p>\n

Here are the latest updates:<\/p>\n

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German state reports four fully vaccinated people infected with Omicron<\/h3>\n

Four people in southern Germany have tested positive for the Omicron variant even though they were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the public health office in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg said.<\/p>\n

Three of the infected people returned from a business trip to South Africa on November 26 and November 27 respectively, and the fourth person is a family member of one of the returnees, the state public health office said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll four people are fully vaccinated. A mutation analysis carried out by the State Health Office has confirmed that all of them are infected with the new variant of concern,\u201d the office said in a statement, adding that all four were in quarantine.<\/p>\n

All four showed moderate symptoms.<\/p>\n

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