Daily COVID Tracker: NCDC logs 404 new infections, one fatality

Nigeria on Sunday recorded 404 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Monday.

Cyprus reports big spike in Omicron cases

Cyprus’ health ministry has reported a sudden surge in infections caused by the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

This follows the identification of the first five cases this month.

According to the ministry, 28 new Omicron infections have been detected, 20 of which could be traced back to people who have been under scrutiny since December 10 as “possible Omicron cases”.

The other eight Omicron cases were related to travel.

The five original cases were also related to travel and were identified after a group of high school pupils and teachers returned from an educational visit to Glasgow, Scotland, on December 1.

US senators test positive for COVID

US senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker have tested positive for COVID-19.

Warren, a progressive democrat who ran for the presidential nomination in 2020, tweeted that she was vaccinated, had received her booster shot and was experiencing mild symptoms in a breakthrough case of the virus.

“Thankfully, I am only experiencing mild symptoms and am grateful for the protection provided against serious illness that comes from being vaccinated and boosted,” she said.

Booker, a democratic senator for New Jersey who also ran for president in 2020, said in a statement on Sunday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 after receiving up to a booster shot of the vaccine.

More than 10,000 Omicron cases now in UK

There are now more than 10,000 new Omicron cases in the UK, as the infection surges across the country.

A further 90,418 daily COVID-19 cases have been reported across the UK, after days of record highs.

Scientific advisers have warned England’s hospital admissions could reach 3,000 a day without new measures.

Sadiq Khan, London Mayor, said the major incident in the capital showed “how serious things are”.

Nigeria reports 404 COVID cases

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 404 cases were reported across the country on Sunday.

The agency in its update for December 19, said the new cases were logged in 11 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

The states include Oyo (122), FCT (84), Lagos (52), Kaduna (51), Imo (20), Delta (18), Kano (17), Kwara (16), Rivers (11), Enugu (10), Ogun (2), and Edo (1).

The NCDC said 15 persons were discharged, and that one person died of COVID complications. The country’s death toll stands at 2,985.

With the newly reported cases, Nigeria has now confirmed a total of 223,887 cases.

Omicron will drive US COVID cases to record high, says expert

Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, says he expects the nation’s coronavirus cases to reach record highs this winter, driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant.

“We are going to see a significant stress in some regions of the country on the hospital system, particularly in those areas where you have a low level of vaccination,” he said.

Fauci called the Omicron variant “extraordinary”, adding that “right now, in certain regions of the country, 50% of the isolates are Omicron, which means it’s going to take over”.