BY Samuel Akpan
Nigeria on Thursday recorded 74 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Friday.
COVID third wave infections spreading faster in Africa
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says Africa is experiencing a “speedy” rise in infection rates, as the continent battles a third wave of COVID-19.
Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said this in a statement issued after a media briefing on Thursday.
According to WHO, infection rates are doubling every week, and the virus is spreading faster than previous records.
“The speed and scale of Africa’s third wave is like nothing we’ve seen before. The rampant spread of more contagious variants pushes the threat to Africa up to a whole new level,” Moeti said.
“More transmission means more serious illness and more deaths, so everyone must act now and boost prevention measures to stop an emergency becoming a tragedy.”
WHO warns COVID third wave inevitable in Europe
WHO has warned that a third wave of COVID-19 infections is inevitable in Europe if citizens are not “disciplined”.
Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday, Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said the number of new cases across the continent rose by 10 percent last week.
“This is taking place in the context of a rapidly evolving situation. A new variant of concern – the Delta variant – and in a region where, despite tremendous efforts by member states, millions remain unvaccinated,” he said.
“There will be a new wave in the WHO European region unless we remain disciplined.”
J&J COVID vaccine shows response against Delta variant
Johnson & Johnson says its COVID-19 vaccine showed a strong response against the Delta variant.
“Current data for the eight months studied so far show that the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine generates a strong neutralizing antibody response that does not wane; rather, we observe an improvement over time,” Mathai Mammen, head of research and development at J&J, said.
The producer of the single-dose vaccine said recipients of the vaccine produced strong neutralising antibodies against all variants.
Delta, the COVID variant first identified in India, is becoming the globally dominant variant and is the cause of rising infections in some countries.
Nigeria records 74 COVID cases
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 74 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in 10 states and the federal capital territory (FCT) on Thursday.
The agency said this in its updates for July 1, 2021.
The states that recorded the infections are Lagos with 49, Ondo 12, and Oyo 3.
Other states that recorded new cases are Rivers (3), Kaduna (2), Ekiti (1), FCT (1), Gombe (1), Jigawa (1) and Ogun (1).
According to the NCDC data, 29 people recovered from the infections on Thursday while one person died of COVID complications.
So far, 167,692 cases have been confirmed, while 164,273 people have recovered from the infection.
Indonesia approves Moderna COVID vaccine for use
Indonesia has authorised the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
Penny Lukito, head of Indonesia food and drug agency, disclosed this on Friday.
The country expects four million doses of the vaccine from the COVAX global-sharing scheme.
COVID-19 IN NIGERIA
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