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Nigeria on Friday recorded 1,356 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Saturday.

US to lift travel ban on eight African countries Dec 31

The United States government has announced that the travel ban imposed on eight southern African countries will be lifted on December 31. 

The affected countries are South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Kevin Munoz, a White House spokesperson, in a tweet on Friday, said the decision was recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Munoz disclosed that the restrictions would let the US understand the Omicron variant, adding that existing vaccines can tackle the variant.

COVID cases hit a new record in UK

UK reported another day of record COVID-19 cases on Friday, with data showing a particular increase in London.

Government data showed 122,186 new cases, a rise from 119,789 on Thursday and marking the third day of cases in excess of 100,000.

There were a reported 137 new deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test, down from 147 on Thursday, and bringing the total during the pandemic to 147,857 — the highest in Europe.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said prevalence increased across all parts of the United Kingdom, with Scotland showing the lowest rate of infections at 1 in 65 people on December 19.

Nigeria reports 1,356 COVID cases

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reported 1,356 cases of COVID-19.

The agency in its update for December 24, said the new cases were logged in 12 states.

The states include Lagos (822), Rivers (119), Kwara (107), FCT (103), Edo (97), Kano (29), Imo (25), Delta (19), Plateau (14), Borno (10), Gombe (8), and Bauchi (3).

The NCDC said 197 persons were discharged after recovering from the virus. There were two fatalities on Friday, bringing the country’s death toll to 2,993.

The agency said the report includes “140 discharged cases (120 community discharges) reported from FCT for 24th December”.

Nigeria has now confirmed a total of 234,709 cases with 212,237 discharges.

Hundreds of US flights cancelled over Omicron 

Hundreds of US flights were cancelled on Christmas eve over fears of Omicron spread.

United, Delta and other US airlines reportedly cancelled more than 600 flights as a surge in COVID-19 cases impacted their staff.

The cancellations came as the Transportation Safety Administration said the number of people travelling for the holiday is returning to pre-pandemic levels.

“The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation,” a United Airlines spokesperson told CBS News in a statement.

“As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel some flights and are notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport.”

UAE suspends passenger flights from Nigeria, Kenya over Omicron COVID-19 variant

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has issued a travel restriction on passenger flights from Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.

The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) and the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) announced on Thursday.

The directive, UAE said, is due to concerns related to the spread of the omicron COVID-19 variant and will take effect from Saturday, December 25.

“The excluded categories should present a negative COVID-19 test obtained within 48 hours of departure and a Rapid-PCR test at the airport within six hours of departure whenever possible and another PCR test at the airport upon arrival to UAE,” the statement reads.