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Omicron Variant: Ban Travels From S’Africa, Others, Experts Tell FG

Published

4 years ago

November 29, 2021

Renowned virologists in Nigeria have called on the Federal Government to be swift in its emergency response to the recently-discovered B.1.1.529 strain of COVID-19, first detected in South Africa.
The virologists, including the Chairman, Expert Review Committee on COVID-19, Prof Oyewale Tomori; ex-National Chairman of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, Prof Tanimola Akande; and a Professor of Medical Virology at the University of Maiduguri, Prof Marycelin Baba, made this known while speaking with newsmen, yesterday.
They warned that tardiness on the part of the government could make the nation slip into the fourth wave of COVID-19, especially as the Christmas and New Year festivities approach.
This is as the Secretary to the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Dr Muktar Muhammed, said that the Federal Government would monitor trends before taking necessary decisions, including the possible imposition of flight ban on southern African countries.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had, last Friday, declared the new COVID-19 strain first discovered in South Africa to be a variant of concern and renamed it Omicron.
The classification puts Omicron into the most-troubling category of COVID-19 variants, along with the globally-dominant Delta, plus its weaker rivals Alpha, Beta and Gamma.
“Based on the evidence presented indicative of a detrimental change in COVID-19 epidemiology… the WHO has designated B.1.1.529 as a variant of concern, named Omicron,” the UN health agency had said in a statement.
Nations including Britain, the United States and the European Union have banned flights from Southern African to slow the spread of Omicron, even as the South African government said it was being punished over what it described as a false alarm.
The WHO said it could take several weeks to complete studies of Omicron to see if there are any changes in transmissibility, severity or implications for COVID vaccines, tests and treatments.
Omicron is about the fifth variant of COVID-19 discovered and named since the outbreak of the pandemic about two years ago.
The variant was first reported to the WHO from South Africa, last Wednesday.
The first known confirmed Omicron infection was from a specimen collected on November 9.
In recent weeks, infections in South Africa have increased steeply, coinciding with the detection.
“This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning,” the WHO said, pointing to worrying characteristics.
“Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs.”
It said the number of Omicron cases appeared to be increasing in almost all provinces of South Africa.
Apart from South Africa, Omicron has been detected in Israel in a person coming from Malawi; Botswana; Belgium and Hong Kong.
Nigeria has recorded about four COVID-19 strains with over 213,000 cases and about 3,000 associated fatalities since the index case of lethal virus in the country last year February.
In June, 2021, the Federal Government added travellers from South Africa to the list of countries banned from flying into Nigeria due to the Delta COVID-19 variant which spread fast in the country.
Nigeria’s first reported case of COVID-19 was in February 2020 when an Italian man who travelled from Milan to Lagos through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport came down with the virus.
Many critics had slammed the Federal Government for being tardy in shutting down the four international airports while other countries were closing theirs to forestall the incursion of the deadly virus.
Asked whether the government would follow the trends by Europe and the UK, amongst others, by banning flights from high-risk areas, including South Africa to prevent the Omicron variant from spreading into the country, the Secretary to the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Dr Muktar Muhammed, said the Federal Government would monitor trends before taking necessary decisions.
Asked whether Nigeria would place southern African countries on red alert, the official said, “We shall continue to monitor the situation globally and take necessary measures appropriately.”
But Tomori faulted the delay, which according to him, may lead to “disaster.”
Tomori said, “Given our porous border and free for all poorly guarded points of entry, plus uncoordinated genetic sequencing practice, efficient surveillance backed by laboratory support puts South Africa way ahead of us.
“Given our state of performance, it will probably take months after the new variant case has arrived in Nigeria before we detect it. By then, it would have spread all over the country so why should we not put them on alert?
“At this point, we need to keep the PSC on, as long as COVID is on, improve and upgrade genetic sequencing, get our points of entry up and doing and not a point of escape of variants into Nigeria, improve contact tracing, test people on arrival and do an efficient and effective contact tracing and follow up.”
On her part, Baba said, “If it is proven scientifically that the existing vaccines have no effect on the new strain, then the needful should be done, suspend travels to South Africa.
“This is not the time for the delay as delays could be dangerous. We really need to act on time; other countries are already making moves.
“Also, emphasis should be made to ensure that all Nigerians are vaccinated. The vaccines protected against the previous strains. However note that as the virus moves from one host to another within a country or between countries, it will mutate leading to new strains. More strains are bound to emerge but the effect of the vaccines on the strains scientifically determines panic or calm.”
Also, Akande, who urged the government and its emergency management teams, including the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), to buckle down, said they should learn from the lessons of the past.
He said, “Every country will be worried and will like to prevent as much as possible importation of the new Omicron variant. Federal Government already has policies and guidelines on travel restrictions and the issue of health security.
“I am sure NCDC and other relevant stakeholders will soon come up with directives on this after weighing the pros and cons of travel bans. In taking decisions lessons learnt from previous measures particularly travel will give good guidance.
“Measures taken by countries like UK, Italy and other European countries are country-specific. These countries are already battling with a heavy burden of the 4th COVID-19 wave. I, therefore, think these countries are taking positions that are to their own interest.”
He also said the new Southern African variant would “herald and most likely worsen the imminent fourth wave,” adding that “containment measures in schools, religious centres among others were not really stopped but enforcement level is very low.”
Experts including the Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, Prof Akin Abayomi, had warned of a possible spike during the festive period, even as the NCDC continues to advocate hygiene practices and adherence to public health protocols while the National Primary Health Care Development Agency keeps pushing for mass vaccination to achieve herd immunity.
South Africa, whose citizens have suddenly become persona-non-grata around the world after the discovery of a new COVID-19 variant in the country, says it is being “punished” and unfairly treated for sounding the alarm.
The government in the country worst hit by the pandemic on the continent is seething over the stigma it has suffered in the past 48 hours for being the bearer of bad news.
The decision by many countries around the world to ban flights from Southern Africa following the discovery of the variant, named Omicron, “is akin to punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and the ability to detect new variants quicker,” the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.
“Excellent science should be applauded and not punished,” it added.
“New variants have been detected in other countries. Each of those cases has had no recent links with Southern Africa,” yet the global “reaction to those countries is starkly different to cases in southern Africa.”
The World Health Organisation has cautioned against imposing travel restrictions due to Omicron.
South Africa’s Health Ministry slammed the travel restrictions as “draconian”, “panic” and “misdirected” measures that go “against the norms and advice by the WHO.
“We feel some of the leadership of countries are finding scapegoats to deal with what is a worldwide problem,” Health Minister, Joe Phaahla said.
Pretoria fears the border closures will hurt “families, the travel and tourism sector, businesses” and that it may deter other countries from reporting discoveries of future variants for fear of being ostracised and punished.
“Sometimes one gets punished for being transparent, and doing things very quickly,” Tulio de Oliveira, a leading virologist who announced the discovery of the Omicron variant, said.

News

Odu Urges Collaboration Among Stakeholders To Improve Health Service Delivery In Rivers

Published

7 hours ago

April 10, 2026

The Tide

Rivers State Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, has called for renewed commitment, transparency, and collaboration among stakeholders in the health sector in the State.

The deputy governor particularly urged synergy between the Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme (RIVCHPP) and the Primary Health Care Management Board towards improved healthcare delivery in the State.

?Prof. Odu made this call during the 2026 First Quarter Review Meeting of the Task Force on Primary Health Care at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Wednesday.

?She stressed the importance of honesty and urged all parties to be truthful and open in addressing challenges within the system.

?According to her, transparency remains critical to identifying and resolving underlying issues affecting healthcare delivery, noting that “if we are not truthful, we will not cure the disease, but merely cover it up.”

The deputy governor recounted a personal experience at a Primary Health Center where a patient, despite being duly registered under the RIVCIPP scheme with completed biometric capture, was still asked to make payment for services.

According to her, intervention by relevant authorities later confirmed the patient’s eligibility, exposing a communication gap between the scheme and healthcare providers.

Odu warned that such incidents could discourage community members from enrolling in the scheme, thereby undermining its objectives.

“When this happens, we are disenfranchising our people. The message that goes back to the community is that even when you register, you are still made to pay,” she stressed.

?While commending the leadership and staff of the Primary Health Care Management Board, Ministry of Health, Development Partners as well as other supporting units, for their efforts, ty deputy governor stressed that performance should not lead to complacency.

She urged stakeholders to continuously strive for improvement, raise standards, and leave lasting positive impacts within the system.

News

You Can Now Print Your Exam Slips, JAMB Tells 2026 UTME Candidates

Published

7 hours ago

April 10, 2026

The Tide

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the opening of examination slip printing for candidates registered for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

JAMB made the announcement yesterday, urging candidates to visit its website to download their slips ahead of the examination.

“Examination Slip Printing is now available. The slip contains details of the venue, date and time of your examination and gives you access to the examination hall,” the board said.

Candidates are to visit jamb.gov.ng and click on “2026 Slip Printing” to print their slips.

The development comes after JAMB dismissed a viral press release falsely claiming the examination had been postponed.

The board described the notice as “malicious and fake” and urged candidates to disregard it.

The 2026 UTME is scheduled to hold from Thursday, April 16, to Saturday, April 25, 2026.

The examination follows a mock test conducted on Saturday, March 28, which recorded technical difficulties at some Computer-Based Test centres.

Of the 224,597 candidates who registered for the mock, 152,586 sat for the test across 989 CBT centres nationwide.

JAMB said over 20 centres were delisted for technical inadequacies.

The board also warned candidates against fraudsters on WhatsApp claiming to facilitate score inflation, describing such claims as “false and criminal”, and threatening cancellation of registration or withholding of results for any candidate found involved.

Over two million candidates, according to JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, registered for this year’s UTME.

News

RSU Unveils Five-Year Strategic Dev Plan …Calls For Collective Commitment To Institutional Excellence

Published

8 hours ago

April 10, 2026

The Tide

In a decisive step towards redefining its future, the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, has formally unveiled its Third Five-Year (2026-2030) Strategic Development Plan.

The development plan is a comprehensive roadmap designed to strengthen the university’s position as a leading institution in Nigeria and beyond.

The unveiling took place during a high-level engagement with the Governing Council, Principal Officers and the university congregation, at the Convocation Arena, recently.

Delivering his remarks at the unveiling ceremony, the Pro-Chancellor of the university and Chairman of Council, Hon. Okey Wali, SAN, charged all members of the university community to align their activities with the strategic direction of the institution, emphasizing that the success of the plan depends on collective commitment.

He noted that the plan is not merely a document, but a working framework that requires discipline, accountability and unity of purpose.

According to the Pro-Chancellor, only through coordinated efforts from all stakeholders can the university fully realize its vision.

“I hereby invite the Visitor to the University, donor agencies, friends and well-wishers, and all stakeholders to support and fund the implementation of this strategic plan. We are confident that this plan will take RSU to greater heights in the comity of higher institutions,” he said.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, described the Strategic Development Plan as a document that would enhance the university’s corporate strengths, mitigate current weaknesses, leverage its corporate opportunities and address perceived existential threats.

“This Five-Year Strategic Plan sets out RSU’s goals, strategic objectives, expected outcomes and impact, including intervention strategies,” he said.

On his part, the Chairman of the Strategic Development Planning Committee, Prof. Emeritus Joseph A. Ajienka, noted that the 2026-2030 Strategic Development Plan represents a bold reaffirmation of the university’s founding ideals of excellence, creativity, innovation and inclusivity, aimed at positioning the institution to respond effectively to contemporary challenges in higher education.

Prof. Ajienka, who is also a member of the Governing Council, disclosed that the plan was developed through an extensive and inclusive consultative process, which he said reflects contributions from Faculties, Departments, Satellite Campuses and Administrative Units.

At its core, the plan seeks to advance the university’s vision of becoming a “unique and uncommon” institution that is structurally and philosophically oriented towards solving practical societal problems and ranking among the top ten universities in Nigeria.

The strategic framework identifies six key challenges confronting the university, including funding constraints, infrastructure deficits, limited research collaboration, and service delivery inefficiencies.

A statement by the university’s Acting Director, Corporate Affairs, Victor G. Banigo, further stated that the university has articulated four broad strategic goals supported by eight targeted objectives.

A central priority of the plan, according to him, is the strengthening of governance and administrative systems, alongside deliberate efforts to expand the university’s funding base. Others include enhanced alumni engagement, strategic partnerships and innovative fundraising initiatives aimed at ensuring long-term financial sustainability.

“Equally significant is the commitment to upgrading physical infrastructure across all campuses. Plans are underway to modernize lecture halls and laboratories, expand student accommodation, improve campus security and deploy advanced ICT systems to support teaching, learning and research.

“Recognizing that human capital is the backbone of institutional success, the university has placed strong emphasis on staff development, recruitment and productivity enhancement. Through targeted training programmes, mentorship initiatives and performance management systems, the plan aims to foster a highly skilled and motivated workforce.

“In addition, the university is poised to deepen its focus on research, innovation and entrepreneurship. By reviewing academic curricula, strengthening industry partnerships and establishing innovation incubation centers, Rivers State University seeks to translate research outputs into practical solutions that address societal needs and drive economic growth,” he said.

The PRO disclosed that the implementation of the strategic plan is projected at ?110 billion, reflecting the scale of transformation envisioned.

“While the university is committed to funding a significant portion internally, additional resources will be mobilized through government support, donor agencies, alumni contributions, and public-private partnerships.

“This multi-channel funding strategy aligns with the university’s broader goal of building a resilient and self-sustaining financial model capable of supporting long-term development,” he explained.

To ensure effective implementation, he said, “the plan incorporates a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework, complete with performance and impact indicators. A mid-term review is scheduled within the first two years to assess progress and make necessary adjustments.

“Furthermore, the establishment of a dedicated Strategic Planning Office will provide oversight, coordination and accountability in executing the plan across all units of the university.”

According to the statement, “As the university embarks on this transformative journey, the message from leadership is clear: the Strategic Development Plan is a collective mandate.

“For staff, students, alumni and stakeholders, it represents an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the growth and advancement of the institution. For the university, it is a pathway to consolidating its legacy while embracing innovation and global relevance.

“With a clear vision, defined priorities and a united community, Rivers State University stands poised to translate this strategic blueprint into measurable progress, advancing knowledge, empowering people and shaping the future of higher education in Nigeria.”