Daily COVID Tracker: Nigeria reports 32 infections in five states, 38 recoveries

February 22, 2022 7:10 am

Nigeria on Monday recorded 32 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Tuesday.

South Africa changes COVID vaccination rules to increase uptake

South Africa has announced plans to change COVID-19 vaccination rules in an effort to boost uptake.

South Africa health department says it is shortening the interval between the first and second doses of the Pfizer COVID vaccine from 42 to 21 days.

In addition, people will be allowed to get a booster dose three months after their second shot rather than wait for six months as was the practice.

The ministry said people will also have the option of “mixing and matching” booster shots.

“The decision regarding which vaccine to administer as a booster should be guided by vaccine availability,” the health department said in a statement on Monday.

UK PM to scrap COVID rules in England

Boris Johnson, UK prime minister, says the country will drop all COVID restrictions as they apply to England.

In January, some of the COVID restrictions were scrapped, including the wearing of masks in public and mandatory COVID passes.

The prime minister told members of parliament on Monday that the legal requirement to self-isolate for those who test positive for the virus in England would be dropped on Thursday.

He said the efforts made over the past two years means the UK is now ready to move away from restrictions to a position of personal responsibility.

Hong Kong detects COVID-19 in pork, beef imports

Hong Kong authorities say they discovered COVID-19 in samples taken from the packaging of imports of frozen beef from Brazil and frozen pork skin from Poland.

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) tested 36 samples from about 1,100 cartons of frozen beef imported from Brazil by sea and found one outer packaging and two inner packaging samples that tested positive.

CFS also said it collected 12 samples from about 300 cartons of frozen pork skin imported from Poland through the sea and discovered one inner packaging sample tested positive for COVID-19.

“The CFS has ordered the importers concerned to dispose of the beef and pork skin of the same batches,” the government said in a statement.

While vowing to investigate the matter, the government added that the CFS “will step up the sampling of similar products for testing”.

Nigeria logs 32 infections

Nigeria has recorded 32 COVID-19 infections across the country.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says the new infections were logged in four states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

A breakdown of the fresh infections is shown below.

Kwara-17
Lagos-7
FCT-5
Rivers-2
Kaduna-1

The agency data showed 38 persons were discharged after they recovered from the infection.

No death was reported on Monday bringing the total number of fatalities to 3,142.

In total, 254,325 cases have been confirmed with 230,793 recoveries.

Trudeau justifies use of emergency powers to end truckers’ protest

Justin Trudeau, Canadian prime minister, has justified his use of emergency powers to end anti-government blockades.

The truckers’ protest had rendered downtown Ottawa impassable after demonstrators occupied the city for weeks. Trudeau subsequently imposed emergency power to deal with the situation.

Speaking on Monday, the prime minister said the step was “necessary” to disperse protesters.

“After weeks of dangerous and unlawful activities … it became clear that local and provincial authorities needed more tools to restore order and keep people safe,” he said.

“Invoking the Emergencies Act has been necessary. Law enforcement agencies relied on it to set up secured areas in downtown Ottawa and at border crossings. It prevented foreign money from continuing to fund illegal blockades and it’s making sure our borders remain open. It has been the responsible thing to do.”