Daily COVID Tracker: NCDC logs 163 infections, six deaths

Nigeria recorded 163 cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Wednesday. 

PAPAU NEW GUINEA REPORTS FIRST OMICRON CASE

Papua New Guinea has announced its first case of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

According to the authorities, the case was a man who came to Papua New Guinea in December from South Africa, after travelling through London and Hong Kong.

He initially tested negative with no symptoms upon arrival in the country.

“Given the period for the man’s travel, it is unclear when or where he contracted the Omicron strain, however, given its incubation period of three days– it is likely he acquired it after departing South Africa,” David Manning, national pandemic response controller, said.

PANDEMIC IS NOWHERE NEAR OVER, WHO WARNS

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the COVID pandemic is far from over, cautioning against a narrative that the Omicron variant is risk-free.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said this in a press conference at WHO’s headquarters in Geneva on Tuesday.

“This pandemic is nowhere near over. Omicron may be less severe, on average, but the narrative that it is a mild disease is misleading,” he said.

“Make no mistake: Omicron is causing hospitalisations and deaths, and even the less severe cases are inundating health facilities.”

The UN health agency chief warned against dismissing Omicron as mild in light of evidence it seems to cause less serious disease.

FRENCH CONSTITUTIONAL COURT TO RULE ON VACCINE PASS BILL

France’s constitutional court, on Tuesday, said it will rule on January 21 whether the government’s vaccine pass can become law.

The new law will require citizens to have proof of full vaccination to access a wide range of everyday activities, such as visiting restaurants and bars or making long-distance journeys on public transport between regions.

A negative PCR or antigen test will no longer be accepted. 

France’s parliament voted on January 16 in favor of the vaccine pass. A decision from the court supporting the bill’s legitimacy is the final step before it becomes law.

If supported by the constitutional court, the law will also come into effect on January 21.

GREECE TO FINE UNVACCINATED PEOPLE OVER 60 €100 PER MONTH

Greece will impose fines of €100 ($114) per month on unvaccinated adults over the age of 60.

The fines will start off at €50 for the month of January, after which they will double.

All residents who were born before December 31, 1961 need to have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by January 16, in order to avoid the fine.

Fines will not be imposed on the first day of the month after an individual receives the first dose, and if an individual fails to receive the second dose, fines will be reinstated starting from when the second dose should have been received, according to state media.

Money collected from the fines will be used to support the country’s health system in its response to the pandemic.

NIGERIA RECORDS 163 INFECTIONS

Nigeria recorded a slight fall in its daily COVID cases on Tuesday.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 163 cases were recorded in 12 states and the federal capital territory (NCDC).

A breakdown of the new cases is shown below:

Lagos -59

FCT-33

Delta-16

Kaduna-13

Gombe-12

Osun-12

Ogun-4

Ekiti-3

Oyo-3

Rivers-3

Borno-2

Imo-2

Nasarawa-1

According to the agency’s records, 310 persons were discharged after recovering from the infection.

There were six fatalities on Tuesday, bringing the total number of deaths to 3,116.

The agency said the report includes two confirmed cases reported for Borno state for January 17; 199 discharged cases reported for the FCT for January 18, including 198 community discharges; and a backlog of four deaths reported for the FCT for December 18 (1), 26 (1), 30 (1) and January 12 (1).

So far, 251,341 cases have been confirmed with 224,939 recoveries.