The centre’s director-general Chikwe Ihekweazu announced the discovery at Monday’s joint briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.

The new strain, B.1.2.5 which is different from the highly infectious B.1.1.7, has not been described as a variant of concern yet, he said.

He said that researchers and scientists were still working hard to understand if this variant had any effect on the virus’ transmissibility, immunity, as well as diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics.

As of Monday’s briefing, Nigeria has confirmed 54 cases of the B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant in the country.

The B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant was first detected in the UK and has spread to over 80 countries around the world.

Iheakwazu said the cases were found between November 2020 and February 2021.

At today’s @PTFCOVID19 briefing, DG @Chikwe_I spoke on the ‘B.1.525’ variant recently detected in Nigeria

“The ‘B.1.525 is yet to be classified as a variant of concern until it is associated with any significant clinical impact” pic.twitter.com/dqGRHOfkCP

— NCDC (@NCDCgov) February 22, 2021

Ihekweazu said: “As we shared, a total of 54 cases with the B.1.1.7 variant strain, which is a variant of concern first described in the UK have been detected in Nigeria.

“There is a new variant, the B.1.2.5 which we have begun to detect in Nigeria and 15 other countries. It is important to note that this variant has not been described as a variant of concern yet.

“Researchers and scientists are still working hard to understand if this variant has any effect on the virus transmissibility, immunity, as well as diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics.

“This is because the variant has some similar mutations with the B.1.1.7, B.1.351 and P.1 variants first detected in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil, respectively.”

The NCDC boss said that the agency was scaling up its sequencing capacity to have a better understanding of the burden of variants of concern in the country.

He said that the risk of virus mutation was higher when there is a high transmission of the virus.

He concluded: “While sequencing is important for us to understand the situation, hand-washing, physical distancing and the proper use of face masks are very important to prevent the spread of the virus.”

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Entry to the Kingdom through land and seaports has also been suspended and this period may be extended by another week.

The decisions were made in response to the emergence of a potent new strain of the virus in the UK and other European countries.

According to the state-run Saudi press agency, the flight ban may be extended by another week “until medical information about the nature of this virus becomes clear”.

Anyone who has returned to the Kingdom from European countries or high-risk countries after Dec. 8 is required to quarantine for two weeks from the date of their arrival.

They must also undergo a COVID-19 test during their self-isolation period and repeat the test every five days.

This development comes after Matt Hancock, health secretary of the United Kingdom, warned that the new strain of the coronavirus is “out of control”.

The movement of goods, commodities, and supply chains from countries where the mutated virus has not appeared will continue as usual.

These travel restrictions will be reviewed in accordance with coronavirus related developments.

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According to data from the NCDC, the number of deaths increased from 1,212 recorded on Friday to 1,218 on Saturday.

Nigeria, like most African nations, has been spared the full devastation of the coronavirus pandemic, but experts worry this second wave could devastate the continent.

The country recorded its highest number of daily deaths from COVID-19 on June 16 — with 31 people dying of complications from the infection.

Since then, the number of daily deaths has fluctuated, and in some days, no deaths at all were recorded.

The NCDC also confirmed a total of 920 new cases in 17 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

This was an increase, from the 806 new cases recorded on Friday.

This is also the third-highest daily figure recorded in the country with the highest being 1,145 recorded on Thursday.

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The governor who announced this on Friday evening blamed the spike in COVID-19 cases on “an unfortunate public perception” that the virus has been defeated.

Experts say Nigeria is witnessing a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, the recorded over 1,000 new cases of the disease, out of which Lagos had 459 infections.

The governor, who is currently being treated for COVID-19, said night clubs, religious centers, and other social events have continued with disregard for COVID-19 guidelines.

“Dear Lagosians, this overwhelming non-compliance with guidelines meant to keep us all safe is very disheartening, especially when we consider that the message at the heart of Christmas is one of sacrifice and sacrificial conduct; embodied by the Holy Bible in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life,” he said.

“Christmas is a commemoration of this supreme act of sacrifice by God. The least we can do in this Season is to emulate that spirit of sacrifice, by abiding with difficult but necessary protective guidelines, for the greater good of all of us. This is certainly not the time to lower our guard against the Coronavirus; it is instead time to step up our battle against this stubborn virus that has gripped the world for several months now.

“Concerts, carnivals and street parties are banned in Lagos State until further notice. Night Clubs have not been allowed to open yet. All Night Clubs in Lagos must immediately shut down, until further notice.”

He added that schools will remain shut while public servants in grade level 14 and below will work remotely for the next two weeks.

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He said this in a short message posted on Twitter, on Wednesday.

In the video, he claimed, “for a hundred years, we couldn’t find a vaccine for cancer. for over forty years we are yet to find any vaccine for HIV AIDS. for over another hundred years research has been going on to find a vaccine for diabetes, we are yet to find a vaccine.

“How is it possible in one year they found a vaccine for Covid 19?”

Senator Melaye further made the unsubstantiated claimed that “those who took the vaccine died within three days.”

He ended the video with a call to African leaders not to allow their citizens to be used as guineapigs by developed nations for “satanic reasons.”

“we will hold the minister of health responsible if any vaccine is used on any Nigerian and there is a concomitant negative effect”, he concluded.

Say no to Covid 19 Vaccine. pic.twitter.com/1eoRdvB45l

— Senator Dino Melaye. (SDM) (@_dinomelaye) December 16, 2020

Back in May, Dino Melaye shared the conspiracy theory that Covid 19 was caused by 5G networks, and he urged the Nigerian government to resist the wide use of the technology.

Melaye’s current theory is coming at a time when Nigeria is witnessing a second wave of coronavirus pandemic. So far, Nigeria has recorded 74,123 cases of the disease. While 66,494 patients have been discharged, 1,200 people have died.

On Tuesday, The Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC),said the country registered 758 new infections in a single day.

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When Covid-19 was just starting to sweep the globe, experts predicted Africa would be devastated, with millions of lives lost. But 11 months later, the continent seems to be doing better than anticipated.

The United States with a population of about 326 million people, has so far recorded over 228,000 deaths from the coronavirus, while the entire continent of Africa has recorded just over 41,000 deaths.

Researchers have found no reason to believe that Black people have a natural immunity to the coronavirus, despite some pseudoscience that has circulated about African Americans in the US. The trend in Africa stands in stark contrast to the experiences of Black people in America, who, due to a range of other socioeconomic factors, are at a disproportionally higher risk of becoming ill from the coronavirus.

But why has Africa been so successful at controlling the coronavirus pandemic?

Experience with other epidemics

Experts say some African nations’ experience with previous viral outbreaks like Ebola means it was already prepared to deal with Covid-19.

In 2014, Nigeria led several West African states to contain the outbreak of Ebola by perfecting public health measures which include isolating the infected, tracing their contacts, and then getting them quarantined while they get tested.

Favorable climate

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland USA found a correlation between temperature, humidity and latitude, and the spread of Covid-19.

Muhammad Sajadi, the lead researcher opined that the virus had an easier time spreading in lower temperatures and humidity.

“Not that it does not spread in other conditions – it just spreads better when temperature and humidity drop,” he said.

Youthful demographics

Africa is home to the world’s youngest population with a median age of 19 years, according to UN figures.

Globally, most of those who have died have been aged over 80.

“The pandemic has largely been in younger age groups.. about 91% of Covid-19 infections in sub-Saharan Africa are among people below 60 years and over 80% are asymptomatic,” said the World Health Organization (WHO).

 Early action

Scientists highlight that what is likely behind Africa’s low caseload is, first and foremost, the fact that most countries implemented draconian protective measures very early on.

The country of Lesotho even imposed a nationwide lockdown before they had a single case.

It declared an emergency and closed schools on March 18, and went into a three-week lockdown about ten days later.

But only days after the lockdown was lifted, did Lesotho find its first confirmed cases. In a population of more than 2 million, the country has so far recorded about 1700 cases and 40 deaths.

Underdeveloped transport system

The underdeveloped transport systems within and between African countries appear to have been a blessing in disguise. It means that Africans do not travel as much as people do in more developed countries, minimizing contact among people of different countries.

Furthermore, Nigeria – Africa’s most populous country has had its borders with neighboring countries including Benin and Niger closed to curb smuggling and boost local production. This measure which has been in place since August 2019, appears to have significantly reduced contact among different people in West Africa.

The low number of coronavirus in Africa is not just down to luck, it shows that with individual action, and following public health measures, Covid-19 can be controlled.

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