A total of 164 persons are officially confirmed to have been infected by COVID-19 in Akwa Ibom State in one week, according to Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
A report conducted by Straightnews shows that 52 persons were infected on January 17; 35 on January 15 while 34 were reported on January 14 contained in official Twitter of NCDC.
Also, NCDC said seven persons were infected on January 12; while 36 were confirmed on January 10.
So far, 667 in the state are confirmed cases while 442 have officially been discharged from the various isolation centres in the state.
In Nigeria, 112,004 are the overall confirmed cases of the pandemic since the outbreak of the virus in the country in February 2020.
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says ‘’Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time.
”Sometimes new variants emerge and disappear. Other times, new variants emerge and persist. Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been documented in the United States and globally during this pandemic.
Multiple COVID-19 variants are circulating globally.
According to CDC, ‘’In the United Kingdom (UK), a new variant called B.1.1.7 has emerged with an unusually large number of mutations. This variant spreads more easily and quickly than other variants.
”In South Africa, another variant called 1.351 has emerged independently of the variant detected in the UK. This variant, originally detected in early October, shares some mutations with the variant detected in the UK.
”In Brazil, a variant called P.1 emerged and was identified in four travelers from Brazil, who were tested during routine screening at Haneda Airport outside Tokyo, Japan.
It stated ”These variants seem to spread more easily and quickly than other variants, which may lead to more cases of COVID-19. Currently, there is no evidence that these variants cause more severe illness or increased risk of death.
”However, an increase in the number of cases will put more strain on health care resources, lead to more hospitalizations, and potentially more deaths.
”Rigorous and increased compliance with public health mitigation strategies, such as vaccination, physical distancing, use of masks, hand hygiene, and isolation and quarantine, will be essential to limiting the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and protecting public health,’’ it added.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government of Nigeria has urged Nigerians to take steps to avoid a second nationwide lockdown.
The Chairman, Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha gave the advice during a press briefing on Monday.
Mustapha who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) charged Nigerians to comply with COVID-19 protocols released by the government.
He said, “Let me remind you that the pandemic is raging and all tiers of Government and citizens must keep their hands-on-deck.
“We are in a difficult situation in which a balance must continue to be struck between lives and livelihood.
“We are considering all options while hoping that broad cooperation will be received.
”We must do everything possible to avoid a second lockdown in Nigeria.”
