By John Ikani
As the third Wave of Covid-19 pandemic rages on, Nigeria recorded 17 deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 2,573 from 2,556 reported 24 hours earlier.
Data released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) also revealed that the country’s total infection from the pandemic currently stands at 196,487.
According to the disease centre, a total of 8,755 Nigerians are currently down with the disease nationwide.
Meanwhile, another variant of the virus, which is said to be mutating faster than others, has been found in South Africa.
Though not yet confirmed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the new variant which is identified as C.1.2, was found by scientists in South Africa based on the types of mutations it contains and the speed at which the mutations have occurred.
A pre-print study put out by South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases notes that the C.1.2 variant was first identified in the Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces in May 2021, as the variant carrying the most mutations since the original “wild” variant emerged in China.
The pre-print study also explained that the C.1.2 variant may evade vaccine protection, though this is yet to be formally concluded.
WHO’s Spokeswoman, Margaret Harris, was reported to have told a United Nations briefing that they were monitoring the variant, but that it does not appear to be spreading.
