Daily COVID Tracker: Nigeria reports 420 infections, eight fatalities

Nigeria on Monday recorded 420 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Tuesday. 

Canada has enough vaccines for all citizens to get fourth dose, says prime minister

Justin Trudeau, Canadian prime minister, says the government has secured enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for all eligible Canadians to receive a booster including a fourth dose.

Trudeau said this in a call with the country’s provincial and territorial premiers as part of the effort to fight the highly infectious Omicron variant.

He added that plans are underway to deliver 140 million rapid COVID-18 tests to provinces and territories.

We’re working on Omicron-targeted vaccine, says Pfizer 

Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, says the COVID-19 vaccine may need to be redesigned to specifically target the Omicron variant.

Bourla said Pfizer and BioNTech are working on an Omicron-targeted vaccine and other “higher doses”.

“I think it is the most likely scenario… we’re working on higher doses. We’re working on different schedules. We’re doing a lot of things right now, as we speak,” Bourla said.

Nigeria records 420 COVID cases 

Nigeria recorded a slight decrease in its daily COVID cases on Monday.

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), 420 infections were reported in 12 states and the federal capital territory (FCT), down from 537 cases on Sunday.

A breakdown of the new infections is shown below;

Lagos-103
Kwara-90
Akwa Ibom-49
FCT-39
Kano-33
Rivers-31
Cross River-17
Ogun-17
Kaduna-15
Edo-11
Niger-9
Oyo-5
Abia-1

The agency said 482 people were discharged after they recovered from the infection, while eight persons were said to have died of COVID complications.

In total, 248,732 confirmed cases, 219,479 recoveries, and 3,085 fatalities have been recorded in 36 states and the FCT.

Japan to keep border restrictions till end of February

Japan says it will keep the border restrictions in place until the end of February to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant.

Fumio Kishida, Japanese prime minister, said this on Tuesday but added that they may be some exceptions for humanitarian issues.

“Thanks to the toughest border rules in the G7 nations, we’ve been able to keep the spread of Omicron to a minimal level, giving us time to prepare to deal with domestic infection,” Kishida said.

“We’ll maintain the current framework of measures until the end of February for the time being, while taking necessary measures from the perspective of humanitarian and national interests.”

India starts COVID booster shots for those at risk

India has started administering booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to front-line workers and elderly people amid the surge in the number of cases.

The government said persons in their 60s and beyond, healthcare personnel, front-line workers and people suffering from other health conditions are eligible for the booster shot.

“The government is committed to providing additional security cover to healthcare and frontline workers on priority,” Mansukh Mandaviya, health minister, said.