No fewer than 107 inbound passengers to Nigeria have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last one week.

This was indicated in the data obtained from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control website on Wednesday. The website also showed that 703 cases of the virus were recorded in the country on Tuesday.

Checks by The PUNCH showed that between November 25 and December 4, the country recorded 749 cases of COVID-19.

However, between December 5 and December 14, the cases recorded were 4,029 representing 437.92 per cent increase over the previous 10 days.

As of Tuesday, Nigeria had recorded 210,596 cases of the deadly virus.

It was also learnt that five additional cases of the Omicron variant of the virus had been detected in the country bringing the total number to 11.

While there are 11 cases of Omicron variant in the country, it was reliably gathered that the Delta variant had risen to 2,237.

The NCDC had on December 1 said it had detected three cases of the Omicron variant in the country.

A week later, it disclosed that three additional cases had been detected brining the total number to six.

As of last week, all the Omicron cases in Nigeria had travel history from South Africa.

But details obtained from the African African Union Institute of Pathogen Genomics on Wednesday indicated the detection of five new Omicron cases, while Delta variant had increased to 2,237.

The PUNCH reports that genomics sequencing of viruses allows for the detection of variants of diseases.

Genomics sequencing is a laboratory method that is used to determine the entire genetic make up of a specific organism or cell type and changes in areas of the genome.

The omicron variant, a newly discovered strain of the coronavirus disease, was first reported by the government of South Africa and later by other African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana among others.

According to the African Union through the genomics institute, 195 samples were sequenced within one week bringing the total number of samples sequenced to 3795.

According to the institute, five additional omicron cases were obtained from the samples while a total of 163 were of the Delta variant making the Delta variant the dominant strain.

Analysis obtained from the NCDC on Wednesday revealed that recovery rate for coronavirus disease dropped by 73.3 per cent within a period of one week. This is as the disease control body also stated that 107 inbound passengers to Nigeria tested positive within that one week.

According to the centre, during epidemic week 47( November 21-28), Nigeria reported a total of 736 recoveries. While a total of 196 recoveries were reported in week 48( November 29-December 5)

“In week 48, the number of discharged cases decreased to 196 from 736 in week 47”, the centre had said.

Analysis of the difference indicated a 73.3 per cent.

Some of the states that indicated recoveries include Abia, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ebonyi, Ekiti, FCT, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Plateau and Rivers.

The centre did not disclose the variant of COVID-19 in 107 inbound passengers between November 29 and December 5,2021.

“In week 48, the number of inbound passengers tested was 7,929 of which 107 were positive compared to 67 which tested positive in week 47”.

When contacted on the five new Omicron cases, an official of the NCDC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that the centre would check the portal of the African institute and refer back to our correspondent.

A medical virologist at the Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, Dr Oladipo Kolawole, said the increased cases of COVID-19 in the country was as a result of people not taking the virus seriously.

Kolawole, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Wednesday, said the increased COVID-19 cases showed that there was community transmission of the virus in the country.

Credit: PUNCH.