TheCable

Nigeria on Tuesday recorded 422 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Wednesday.

IRELAND TO RELAX RESTRICTIONS FOR COVID-19 CLOSE CONTACTS

Ireland is expected to lift restrictions on the movement of people who have been in close contact with someone suffering from COVID-19, if they are fully vaccinated with a booster and have no symptoms.

In a radio interview, Stephen Donnelly, the minister of health, said he had received updated advice on coronavirus restrictions that would be considered by his cabinet colleagues on Wednesday.

“The main change and recommendation is as follows: if you have boosted immunity currently you are asked to restrict your movements for five days. That requirement would go completely. So no restricted movement if you have boosted immunity,” he said.

Donnelly said he would also propose that certain age groups with a positive rapid antigen test no longer need a PCR test to confirm the result.

ISRAEL SHORTENS ISOLATION FOR ASYMPTOMATIC CASES

Israel on Tuesday, cut the isolation time for asymptomatic cases from 10 days to seven days.

The health ministry, in a statement, said people infected with COVID-19 and not suffering symptoms for three days can be out of isolation after seven days.

The decision came after a ministry study of 80 COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant of the virus.

Laboratory tests were said to have shown that the likelihood of virus growth after seven days of illness was 6 percent.

“The study conducted by health ministry experts shows that the chance that an Omicron patient will be contagious after this period of time is very low. We will not impose isolation beyond what is required, in order to maintain health, keep the economy, education system and culture going and to maintain routine life alongside the coronavirus,” Nitzan Horowitz, the health minister, said.

WHO: OMICRON TO INFECT MORE THAN HALF OF EUROPE IN SIX TO EIGHT WEEKS

Hans Kluge, a top Europe official of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has predicted that more than half of the continent’s population will get infected with the Omicron COVID-19 variant within the next six to eight weeks.

He said Europe saw more than seven million newly reported COVID-19 cases in the first week of 2022, more than double across a two-week period.

“At this rate, the Institute for health metrics and evaluation forecasts that more than 50 percent of the population in the region will be infected with Omicron in the next six to eight weeks,” Kluge said.

INDONESIA TO KICK OFF BOOSTER CAMPAIGN

Indonesia President Joko Widodo has announced that the country will start giving third doses of COVID-19 vaccines to its population at no cost amid concerns about the spread of Omicron.

The booster programme will start on Wednesday, with priority given to the elderly and other vulnerable groups.

“I have decided that third doses will be free for all of the Indonesian people because the safety of the people is our priority,” he said in a press conference.

NIGERIA RECORDS 422 CASES

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reported 422 fresh cases of COVID-19.

According to the agency’s update for January 11, the new cases were recorded in 14 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

A breakdown of the cases is shown as follows:

Rivers-178

Kwara-87

FCT-57

Borno-20

Kaduna-17

Plateau-14

Katsina-12

Delta-6

Edo-6

Jigawa-6

Anambra-5

Ekiti-5

Oyo-5

Ogun-3

Nasarawa-1

The agency said 716 people were discharged after they recovered from the infection.

Meanwhile, one person was said to have died of COVID complications raising the total fatalities to 3,086.

The NCDC said the report includes 20 cases reported from Bauchi state for January 7 (12); 8 (1); 9 (2); and 10 (5).

It also includes six cases reported from Delta state for January 4 (2) and 7 (4).

With the new confirmed cases, Nigeria has now recorded a total of 249,154 infections and 220,195 recoveries.