HEALTH : New variant of coronavirus reportedly emerge in Nigeria

A new variant of the deadly coronavirus appears to have emerged in Nigeria.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the alert on Thursday.

The body announced plans to commence further investigation.

“It’s a separate lineage from the U.K. and South Africa. Give us some time, it’s still very early”, Africa CDC head, John Nkengasong, told reporters.

He said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) the African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) would analyze more samples.

Nkengasong disclosed that the new variant was based on two or three genetic sequences.

It was found in two patient samples collected in August and October in Osun State.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has recorded 80,922 cases of COVID-19, 1,236 deaths, and 69,274 recoveries.