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dpa
Rio de Janeiro/Cairo/Cape Town
The Omicron coronavirus variant first detected last month has reached Brazil and Nigeria, the most populous countries in South America and Africa.
Samples from two Brazilians who tested positive for the Omicron variant through the renowned Albert Einstein Hospital would be sent for confirmatory laboratory analysis, a statement from Brazil’s health surveillance agency Anvisa said on Tuesday.
According to the news portal G1, the cases involve Brazilian missionaries living in South Africa.
According to official figures, a total of more than 22 million people have now been infected in Brazil, a country of 210 million, while almost 614,000 patients have died in connection with Covid-19 - there have been more deaths only in the US.
Meanwhile in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, three people tested positive for the variant, according to the physician Ifedayo Adetifa from the National Centre for Communicable Diseases (NCDC).
“They arrived in the country (from South Africa) only last week, “ the NCDC director general announced in a statement released on Wednesday. In addition to isolating those infected, the identification of contacts has been initiated, he said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the Omicron variant, first discovered in southern Africa, as “of concern.” The EU health authority ECDC speaks of serious concerns that Omicron could significantly reduce the effectiveness of vaccines and increase the risk of reinfection. The exact effects of the mutated variant are not yet known.
In the meantime, cases of the variant have been discovered more than a dozen other countries.
Saudi Arabia confirmed its first case of the variant in a Saudi man returning from a North African country, Saudi Arabia’s state news agency SPA reported, citing an official at the Health Ministry. The official did not name that country.
Last week, oil-rich Saudi Arabia banned flights to and from several African countries amid fears of the spread of Omicron.
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been confirmed for the first time in Norway after two cases were detected on Wednesday in the municipality of Oygarden west of Bergen.
South Korea’s Office of Disease Control and Prevention reported four suspected cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Genome sequencing was to be used to determine which variant the patients had been infected with.
The news came as South Korean health authorities announced on Wednesday more than 5,000 new coronavirus infections in one day for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.
The authorities warned in recent weeks that it would be difficult to implement the next stage of the “gradual return to normality” as planned in December, given the trend of rising infection numbers.
Also on Wednesday, the 194 member countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) said they would work out an international agreement to better prepare for future pandemics.
Rio de Janeiro/Cairo/Cape Town
The Omicron coronavirus variant first detected last month has reached Brazil and Nigeria, the most populous countries in South America and Africa.
Samples from two Brazilians who tested positive for the Omicron variant through the renowned Albert Einstein Hospital would be sent for confirmatory laboratory analysis, a statement from Brazil’s health surveillance agency Anvisa said on Tuesday.
According to the news portal G1, the cases involve Brazilian missionaries living in South Africa.
According to official figures, a total of more than 22 million people have now been infected in Brazil, a country of 210 million, while almost 614,000 patients have died in connection with Covid-19 - there have been more deaths only in the US.
Meanwhile in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, three people tested positive for the variant, according to the physician Ifedayo Adetifa from the National Centre for Communicable Diseases (NCDC).
“They arrived in the country (from South Africa) only last week, “ the NCDC director general announced in a statement released on Wednesday. In addition to isolating those infected, the identification of contacts has been initiated, he said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the Omicron variant, first discovered in southern Africa, as “of concern.” The EU health authority ECDC speaks of serious concerns that Omicron could significantly reduce the effectiveness of vaccines and increase the risk of reinfection. The exact effects of the mutated variant are not yet known.
In the meantime, cases of the variant have been discovered more than a dozen other countries.
Saudi Arabia confirmed its first case of the variant in a Saudi man returning from a North African country, Saudi Arabia’s state news agency SPA reported, citing an official at the Health Ministry. The official did not name that country.
Last week, oil-rich Saudi Arabia banned flights to and from several African countries amid fears of the spread of Omicron.
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been confirmed for the first time in Norway after two cases were detected on Wednesday in the municipality of Oygarden west of Bergen.
South Korea’s Office of Disease Control and Prevention reported four suspected cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Genome sequencing was to be used to determine which variant the patients had been infected with.
The news came as South Korean health authorities announced on Wednesday more than 5,000 new coronavirus infections in one day for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.
The authorities warned in recent weeks that it would be difficult to implement the next stage of the “gradual return to normality” as planned in December, given the trend of rising infection numbers.
Also on Wednesday, the 194 member countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) said they would work out an international agreement to better prepare for future pandemics.
